FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLI No. 329 | INDORE | WEDNESDAY | MAY 7, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in Nation China will veto any resolution against Pakistan: Tharoor P.7 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE WORLD Merz magic works in 2nd vote UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Russia-India, a historical bond P.6 Cinema Manisha’s mind map P.14 JUSTICE MEGA MOCK DRILL TODAY SERVED WAR PREPAREDNESS | Security drills in nearly 250 dists, including Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur & Katni Precision strikes hit 9 terror camps in PoJK Agencies NEW DELHI The Indian Armed Forces on Wednesday launched 'Operation Sindoor', carrying out precision strikes on nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistanoccupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), days after the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people. A little while ago, the Indian Armed Forces launched 'OPERATION SINDOOR', hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed, said an official statement from the Minister of Defence. Altogether, nine (9) sites have been targeted. Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of tar- BLACKOUT The training also includes crash Siren will be activated followed by blockade, rescue operation, etc blackout measures, which refer to training on planned blackouts to guard against aerial attacks. As part of the drill, authorities may ask residents to switch off lights for a certain duration to mimic a blackout. The training will also include camouflaging of vital plants and installations. Our Staff Reporter HOTLINE Hotline and radio communication BHOPAL gets and method of execution, said MoD. Further as per the Ministry, these steps come in the wake of the "barbaric" Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered. We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable. There will be a detailed briefing on 'OPERATION SINDOOR', later today, the MoD added in its statement Meanwhile, in a post on X, the Indian Army said: "Justice is served. Jai Hind!" In an earlier post, the Army had written: "prhaaraay snnihitaaH, jyaay prshikssitaaH" Ready to strike, trained to win. Amidst ongoing tension between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack and adhering to instructions of the Union Home Ministry, the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to conduct civil defence mock drill in five cities vis Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Katni at 4 pm on Wednesday. Before the start of the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav informed cabinet members about the proposed Civil Defence Mock Drill. A siren will be activated at 4 pm as a sign of warning. Various activities such as doing blackout, protecting main infrastructures and rescuing injured persons lines with the Air Force will also be operational during this drill. It will also test the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms. PAK FEELS CHENAB SQUEEZE Pakistan has recorded a significant decrease in the waters of the Chenab river, after India held the Indus treaty in abeyance and the closure of the gates of Baglihar and Salal dams. According to Pakistan news site Dawn News, the water flows in the Chenab, recorded at the Marala headworks, decreased from up to 35,000 cusecs on Sunday to about 3,100 cusecs on Monday morning. 4Continued on | P8 will be done under mock drill. In this regard, necessary directions have been given to Collectors, SPs of districts. Notably, on the directives of the Union Home Ministry, Civil Defence Mock Drill will be carried out in 244 districts of the country on Wednesday. Civil defence mock drill in five major cities: CM hief Minister Mohan Yadav said that a direction has come from the Union Home Minister and accordingly, civil defence mock drill will be conducted in five major cities of the state including Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Katni on Wednesday evening. As part of future planning, preparations are being done in other districts as well. C India, UK seal trade Pass percentage highest in 15 yrs; girls outshine boys deal, Modi calls it ‘historic milestone’ n 76% of Class 10, 74% of Class 12 candidates successful n Class 10 topper Pragya scores 100% Our Staff Reporter PTI BHOPAL NEW DELHI BIZ BOOST India and the UK on Tuesday sealed an ambitious free trade agreement along with a double contribution convention. This landmark deal, PM Narendra Modi said, would catalyse trade, investment, growth and job creation in both the economies. "In a historic milestone, India and the UK have successfully concluded an ambitious and mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement, along with a Double Contribution Convention," Modi said in a social media post after a phone conversation with his British counterpart Keir Starmer. The deal was finalised by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal during his talks with Britain's business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds in London on Friday. The deal aims to boost bilateral trade by 25.5 bn pounds ($34 billion) by 2040 It offers liberal market access and eased trade restrictions Whisky tariffs will be halved from 150% to 75% It lowers tariffs on advanced manufacturing parts and food products It will allow more UK firms to compete for contracts in India, and enable Indians to travel to UK for work 4Continued on | P8 Sanchi milk to cost `2/ltr more from today Sanchi milk price has been increased by Rs 2 per litre on Tuesday. It will be effective from May 7. Only price of DTM (180ML) variant price has not been increased. For monthly card holders, old price will be valid till May 15. For card holders, hiked rates will be effective from May 16. Today in IPL MATCH NO. 57 KKR Vs CSK KOLKATA, 7.30 PM (DETAIL ON SPORTS PAGE) Nearly 76.22% of students passed the MP Board high school exam, while 74.48% cleared the higher secondary exam. This is the highest pass percentage in both exams in recent years. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav released the results at his official residence on Tuesday. Girls out-performed boys in the exams. Pragya Jaiswal of Singrauli topped Class 10 with a perfect 500/500. Of the 212 students in Class 10 merit list, 144 are girls. In Class 12, 59 of the 159 merit list students are girls. Priyal Dwivedi of Satna led science-maths group with 492 marks. Ankur Yadav (Rewa) topped humanities with 489, Rimjhim Karothiya (Gwalior) led commerce with 491. 4Continued on | P8 Police officers not taking effective action will not be seen in field: CM Our Staff Reporter Bhopal Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that stern action shall be taken to contain crime, particularly against women. Police officers who fail to take effective action will not be seen in field. He was reviewing law and order situation of the state at Samatava Bhawan on Tuesday. In the light of Love-Jihad case which happened with girl students of a private college, he said that there is need to exercise special alertness at education centres. The teachers of schools and colleges shall question unwanted elements. There shall be some kind of control at the level of education centre as well. The eve-teasers shall not be spared at the level of educational institute. 4Continued on | P8 paredness of rescue teams and firefighters and evacuation measures. The evacuation drills will be rehearsals for moving civilians from vulnerable areas to safe zones. Five districts of the state are part of the mock drill. Civil defence is an effort to protect citizens of the state from military attack. It uses the principles of emergency operations, prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, emergency evacuation and recovery. Chief Secretary CM Mohan Yadav releases MPBSE results on Tuesday. Minister for school education Rao Udai Pratap Singh was also present CLASS 12: GIRLS LEAD AGAIN f 6.97 lakh students who appeared in Class 12 exam, 6.03 lakh were regular and 94,000 private candidates. Girls (3.03 lakh) outnumbered boys (3 lakh) and performed better, with 1.77 lakh girls securing first division compared to 1.41 lakh boys. The overall pass percentage for regular students rose to 74.48%, up from 64.49% in 2023 and 55.28% in 2022. Private students lagged far behind with a 26.48% pass rate. Girls achieved 77% success rate—nearly 6% higher than boys. O CLASS 10: Govt Schools shine f 9.36 lakh students who took Class 10 MP Board exam, O 8.05 lakh were regular and 1.31 lakh were private candidates. P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke on the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan saying that the water belonging to India will flow in India and will be brought to use in the country. He asserted that water which once flowed to “another country" will now be reserved for the benefit of Indians. Without naming Pakistan, the Prime Minister’s remarks appeared to reference water-sharing arrangements under the Indus Waters Treaty. "Earlier the water meant for Indians was going outside. Ab Bharat ka paani, Bharat ke haq me FP News Service JABALPUR rat Nizamuddin Railway Station on May 3 (Saturday) in Delhi. He was found missing from his berth at Damoh Rail- Snack pack or stack pack: `1.35 cr found in namkeen parcel meant for Mumbai Sender’s suspicious behaviour made travel company open packet Our Staff Reporter INDORE way Station in Madhya Pradesh on May 4 (Sunday) morning. Railway authorities started searching the Union Minister. After a three-hour search, he was traced to be on board the Sampark Kranti Express at Sihora Road Railway Station, around 162 km away, in Madhya Pradesh.   In what is being termed a major recovery of hawala money, Rajendra Nagar police busted a racket involving the illegal transfer of Rs 1.35 crore, an official said on Tuesday. The money was allegedly being clandestinely sent from Indore to Mumbai under the guise of a namkeen (snack)parcel from the office of Rajratan Tour & Travels, situated at Manik Bagh Road near Choithram Square. Additional DCP (zone-1) Alok Kumar Sharma said the accused has been identified as Navneet Verma, who was sending the parcel to his brother-in-law Kapil. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Anurag Jain has given necessary directions to collectors of all five districts in connection with the civil defence mock drill. The administration of all five districts have been asked to coordinate the mock drill so that people could be ready for any eventuality. ‘INDIA’S WATER, INDIA’S RIGHT’ HAWALA RACKET BUSTED Union Minister goes missing from train, found injured in another Union Minister Jual Oram reportedly went missing from a train in which he was travelling to Jabalpur from Delhi. Later, he was found injured in another train. Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram boarded the Gondwana Express train from Haz- EVACUATION The drill will also check the pre- SEIZED 13 bundles of Rs 10 lakh each One bundle of Rs 50,000 Six 250gm packs of Narsingh Namkeen A plastic sack labelled with sender and receiver detail bahega, Bharat ke Haq me rukega aur Bharat ke hi kaam ayega... (But now, the water from India will flow in India's interest. The water will be stopped in India's interest and will be used in India)," PM Modi said at ABP Network's India At 2047 Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. UNSC blasts Pak over Pahalgam PTI NEW YORK UN Security Council member nations have posed tough questions to Pakistan while discussing the Pahalgam terror attack amid increasing global outrage over the dastardly strike that killed 26 civilians. The Security Council refused to issue a statement following the meeting which was held in a consultative room rather than the main hall, effectively dismissing Pakistan's attempt to get a favourable position from the Security Council. There was broad condemnation of the terrorist attack and the need to fix accountability for it, authoritative sources told PTI after an informal session of the top UN body. "The UN Security Council members raised tough questions for Pakistan at its informal session. It was advised to sort out the issues bilaterally with India," a source said. 4Continued on | P8 off grid India climbs to 130/193 in Human Development Index PTI NEW DELHI India rose on the Human Development Index (HDI), ranking 130 out of 193 countries in the 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) released on Tuesday by the UN Development Programme. It was ranked 133 in the year 2022. The report said India's HDI value increased from 0.676 in 2022 to 0.685 in 2023. India remained in the medium human development category, moving closer to the threshold for high human development (HDI = 0.700), the report said. The report also pointed out that inequality reduces India's HDI by 30.7 per cent, one of the highest losses in the region. While health and education inequality have improved, income and gender disparities remain significant. Female labour force participation and political representation lag, though recent steps such as the constitutional amendment reserving one-third of legislative seats for women offer promise for transformative change, the report said. In India, the report said life expectancy increased slightly from 71.7 years to 72.0 years, marking the highest level recorded for the country. While expected years of schooling remained nearly unchanged, moving from 12.96 to 12.95 years, mean years of schooling saw a notable increase from 6.57 to 6.88 years. 4Continued on | P8