FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLII No. 86 | INDORE | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 3, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Samson’s six-hitting spree leaves India’s think-tank in a fix P.15 fp Briefs AIZAWL PM likely to visit Manipur Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Mizoram and Manipur on September 13, officials in Aizawl said. PM Modi will first visit Mizoram to inaugurate the new BairabiSairang railway. Multiple officials of the Mizoram government said they have received information that from Aizawl, the PM will fly to Manipur, his first visit since the ethnic violence broke out in the state in May 2023. NEW DELHI India, US firms seal PCP deal The US' Flowserve Corporation and India's CORE Energy Systems Ltd. have signed a deal to bring the primary coolant pump (PCP) technology to India, a person familiar with the matter said. The agreement was formalised in Washington DC in the presence of officials from the US Department of Energy and the Indian Embassy. ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE WORLD LANDSLIDE BURIES DARFUR VILLAGE, OVER 1000 DEAD UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Smiles, conflicts, omissions P.6 Cinema Political heat on The Bengal Files P.14 `2,813 cr boost for tap water to 7L rural familes State govt to bear increased cost of 8,358 revised Jal Jeevan Mission schemes INDORE-UJJAIN GREENFIELD ROAD PROJECT Our Staff Reporter he Cabinet approved construction of a 48.10 km four-lane Indore-Ujjain Greenfield road with service roads on both sides. The project will be developed under Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) with administrative approval of Rs 2,935 crore, including land acquisition cost.The project includes 34 underpasses, 2 flyovers, one railway overbridge, 7 mid-size bridges, and 2 major junctions. Previous administrative approval given to PWD was cancelled to develop the road under HAM. T BHOPAL The state Cabinet on Tuesday decided to bear the increased cost of 8,358 revised schemes of Jal Jeevan Mission being implemented by Public Health Engineering department. Due to revision, the proposed cost of these schemes increased by Rs 2,813.21 crore, which is 13.55 percent of total project cost. Out of 27,990 sanctioned schemes to provide tap water connections in villages, 15,947 have been completed, while work on 12,043 schemes is on at various stages. Revising 8,358 schemes was necessary to avoid depriving about 7 lakh rural families of domestic tap water. The original cost of these re- vised schemes was Rs 6,213.76 crore. After revision, the sanctioned cost rose to Rs 9,026.97 crore. Government decided to bear the increased cost as central share will not be available. SEMICON | In a veiled rebuttal to dead economy jibe, PM says 7.8% growth in Q1 amid economic self-interest a major achievement ‘ECONOMIC SELFISHNESS CANNOT DERAIL GROWTH’ INFRA BOOST FOR SIMHASTHA dministrative approval of Rs 371.11 crore has been granted for construction of a four-lane road on Hari Phatak railway crossing in Ujjain and a new 980-meter railway overbridge at Hari Phatak Chauraha, under the Simhastha head. Cabinet also approved Rs 972.16 crore for construction of a 72.18 km two-lane road with paved shoulder on Narmada Timarni road, to be developed under HAM model. A Russia further slashes oil prices for India; discount widens to USD 4 amid US tariffs Agencies MOSCOW PM Narendra Modi and Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during the inauguration of Semicon India 2025 In a significant feat for the country, Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday presented the first made-in-India processor, along with test chips from four approved projects, to PM Narendra Modi. The first fully indigenous 32bit microprocessor, called 'Vikram,' has been developed by ISRO’s Semi-conductor Laboratory GST Council to meet today DAVV’s chip unveiled ‘US biz deal likely by Nov’ The GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is scheduled to meet on Wednesday and Thursday in New Delhi with a key agenda of revamping the existing GST structure. A semiconductor chip designed by the Advanced VLSI Lab of Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), an entity of Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya , was unveiled at Semicon India SEE PG3 Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said India and the US are in talks for a bilateral trade agreement and the pact is likely to be clinched by November. SEE MONEY third largest economy.” Highlighting the success of the Semicon India programme, he said the scheme was launched in 2021 and thus far an investment of $18 billion or Rs 1.5 lakh crore has been made in 10 semiconductor projects. "The day is not far when the smallest chip made in India will drive the biggest change in the world," Modi said. Russian crude oil has become even cheaper for India as Moscow has offered additional discounts of as much as $3–$4 per barrel. This came days after the United States announced a whopping 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods. The price of Urals crude has dipped to a discount of $3 to $4 a barrel to Brent on a delivered basis, according to people who received offers for the Russian grade, asking not to be identified discussing sensitive information. The price is for cargoes that will load in late September and October, they added. Indian refiners have continued to take Russian oil, despite a brief pause in early August, and cheaper Urals are likely to attract strong buying interest. Last week, the grade was being offered at a discount of around $2.50 a barrel, wider than $1 in July, the people said. That compares with US crude recently bought by some refiners, which was priced at around a $3 premium, they added. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 I-T raids top medical supplier linked to health dept Will only interpret Outcry over Modi meeting Xi, Putin MUMBAI Jarange ends fast after GR Activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday ended his fiveday-old hunger strike after the Maharashtra government accepted most of his demands, including granting eligible Marathas Kunbi caste certificates which will make them eligible for reservation benefits available to OBCs. Pg7 Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar India’s first fully indigenous chip NEW DELHI In a veiled dig at Trump's tariffs, PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India has managed to post strong economic growth “despite challenges driven by economic selfishness". “On one hand, many of the world's economies are facing uncertainty and challenges related to economic selfishness. Yet, in this environment, Bharat has achieved a remarkable growth rate of 7.8% (in the April-June quarter of 2025),” he said at the launch of Semicon India 2025 here. Asserting that his government will soon unleash a new phase of next-generation reforms, the PM said, “India has performed better than every hope, every expectation, every assessment.” Modi added that “this growth is in every sector, manufacturing, services, agriculture, construction, enthusiasm is visible everywhere.” In an oblique reference to Trump's "dead economy" jibe, he said “the direction of growth is sure to move rapidly towards making India the PRESIDENTIAL REFERENCE Over 30 locations of Science House under scanner over tax ‘evasion’ Constitution: SC Our Staff Reporter FP News Service BHOPAL NEW DELHI The Income Tax department on Tuesday conducted raids on Science House Medical Company, a prominent supplier of medical equipment to government and private hospitals. More than 30 premises were searched across Bhopal, Indore, Mumbai and other cities in a jesh Gupta, were also probe that could expose searched. A large tax evasion running number of incrimiinto crores of rupees. nating documents Science House is were seized, pointheaded by Jitendra Ti- Rajesh Gupta ing to alleged masswari. I-T officials began their ive tax evasion. These included operation early morning at the records of cash transactions, company’s office in Gautam tender-related papers and Nagar, Bhopal. Residences of names of beneficiaries. Bank Tiwari, his brother Shailendra accounts of company’s owners and associates, including Raand associates are currently The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will only interpret the Constitution while hearing the Presidential reference on whether courts can set timelines for Governors and the President to act on Bills passed by state assemblies. A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai, and comprising Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar, told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta it would not go into state-specific examples and would confine itself to constitutional provisions. As reports Bar & Bench and Live Law The bench also orally ob- under investigation. The raids are expected to continue over the coming days as officials analyse the recovered material. LEADING MEDICAL SUPPLIER: Science House Medical Company, established in 1994, operates in distribution of medical equipment and diagnostic services. 4Continued on | P8 served that instances of delay in granting assent cannot justify a blanket, general timeline for all cases under Articles 200 and 201. If there are individual cases of delay, aggrieved parties can approach courts for specific directions, the bench said, adding that Article 200’s phrase “as soon as possible” cannot be converted into a fixed period by the judiciary. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, for Tamil Nadu and others opposing the reference, argued that Bills “fall through” only when the first proviso to Article 200 is fully followed return for reconsideration and repassage 4Continued on | P8 offgrid Ujjain should be divided into 7 zones for Simhastha: CM Yadav says all work should completed by December 2027 Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav presided over a meeting held with the members of the ministerial sub-committee to discuss the issues related to Simhastha on Tuesday. Yadav said the work relating to Simhastha should be completed by December 2027. For better management of Simhastha, Ujjain should be divided into seven zones, Yadav said. The work for providing drinking water, cleanliness, law and order, health, and hous- ing should be started from now, Yadav said. A decision on widening roads and other work should be taken after consulting locals, he said. Garbage management, parking and the arrangements to be made for the pedestrians should also be made from now, Yadav said. 4Continued on | P8 Agencies WASHINGTON MLA Pathak tried to call judge, HC flags concern Justice Mishra recuses himself from EOW-linked mining case Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Justice Vishal Mishra of Madhya Pradesh High Court, principal bench Jabalpur, has recused himself from hearing a case after disclosing that BJP MLA Sanjay Pathak attempted to contact him for a discussion regarding the matter. In his order, Justice Mishra stated that Pathak tried to reach out to him personally. Following this, the judge declined to hear the case and directed that it be placed before the Chief Justice. The case involves a complaint filed by Ashutosh Dixit against the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). While Pathak is not a party in the original case, he submitted an intervention petition in the High Court to clarify his position. The petition relates to a financial embezzlement complaint concerning companies linked to him. Dixit had alleged that these companies carried out excess mining operations and failed to deposit Rs 1,000 crore in government revenue. The EOW forwarded the complaint to the mining depart- Patwari seeks action State Congress president Jitu Patwari, in his tweet to chief minister Mohan Yadav, has demanded action against BJP party MLA Sanjay Pathak. Patwari said HC Judge's comment regarding Sanjay Pathak reflected the truth. ment, which formed an inquiry committee. The mining department has already imposed a fine of over Rs 443 crore and recommended recovery of GST from Pathak s companies. These include Anand Mining Corporation in Sehora tehsil of Jabalpur district, Nirmala Minerals, and Pacific Export. According to a reply in the Vidhan Sabha, these firms mined beyond authorised limits. 4Continued on | P8 ‘US Prez let family biz trump strategic ties’ Agencies US President Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro, doubled down on his criticism of India’s trade ties with Russia, calling PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the SCO summit a “shame.” “It is a shame to see Modi getting in bed with Xi Jinping and Putin. I’m not sure what he’s thinking. We hope he comes around to seeing that he needs to be with us and not Russia,” Navarro said. 4Continued on | P8 WASHINGTON Former US NSA Jake Sullivan has accused President Donald Trump of jeopardising America’s relationship with India in favour of his family’s business interests in Pakistan. Speaking on the YouTube channel MeidasTouch, he said Trump’s move to sacrifice bilateral ties was a “huge strategic harm” to the United States’ own interests. “On a bipartisan basis, going back decades, the United States Because of Pakistan’s willingness to do business deals with the Trump family, Trump has thrown the India relationship over the side. has worked to build its relationship with India, the world’s largest democracy - a country that 4Continued on | P8 From crease to chair – Scindia innings never ends PM, RSS cartoons: Cartoonist gets anticipatory bail Our Sports Reporter PTI INDORE NEW DELHI In a script straight out of cricket’s dynastic playbook, Mahanaryaman Scindia, 29, was today elected unopposed as the new President of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA), becoming the youngest ever to helm the body since its inception in 1957. The son of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who himself steered MPCA for over nine years, and grandson of the late Madhavrao Scindia, Mahanaryaman now extends a family legacy that has dominated MP cricket for nearly seven decades. “All executive posts, includ- The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave anticipatory bail to cartoonist Hemant Malviya who is accused of sharing allegedly objectionable cartoons of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS workers on social media. Noting that he has apologised on his Facebook and Instagram accounts, a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria gave the police liberty to seek cancellation of his bail in case the cartoonist did not cooperate in the probe. FLASH STATS YOUNGEST MPCA PRESIDENT: 29 years UNOPPOSED ELECTIONS: All executive posts filled SCINDIA LEGACY: Third generation at the helm ing president, were filled unopposed. The team will assume charge after the AGM,” said Rohit Pandit, MPCA’s chief administrative officer. 4Detail on Sports Page 4Continued on | P8