FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLII No. 149 | INDORE | WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 5, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in Sports NAQVI’S NO-SHOW AT DUBAI CONFERENCE P.12 fp Briefs NEW DELHI QS rankings All but one of the top 10 Indian institutions, including seven IITs, have slipped in the 2026 QS Asia University Rankings. IIT Delhi, India’s top-ranked institution for the second consecutive year, dropped 15 places to 59th from last year’s 44th. Five IITs — Delhi, Madras, Bombay, Kanpur, and Kharagpur — recorded their lowest positions in recent years. MUMBAI Mistry exits Tata Trusts Bringing an end to the speculation around Mehli Mistry's trusteeship in the Tata Trusts, the former trustee has officially parted ways with the Tata group, ANI has learned from sources close to Mistry. On October 27, this year, Mistry's role as trustee with the Tata Trusts came to an end. ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE UJJAIN WORLD PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK Cinema AGE IS JUST A NUMBER P.14 DEEPER, BROADER CONVERGENCE We have stood together in testing times and we have created a relationship with a very high degree of trust and reliability. NEW DELHI Gideon Sa’ar could not hide his love and admiration for India. The Israeli foreign minister, who is on his maiden visit to the country - two months after Israeli finance minister Bezalel  Smotrich’s  visit -  described India as a “global superpower” in an interview to a television channel. He added that an MoU on defence between the two countries was in the works. Recalling the Hamas terror attacks, Sa’ar said in the interview.  “We will not forget the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first world leader to call Prime Minister Netanyahu on that awful day. India stood by us, and we will remember that.” The Israeli foreign minister had a packed day in Delhi. Arriving late on Monday night, he had a morning meeting with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, followed by a meeting with NSA Ajit Doval. Observers pointed out the Israeli foreign minister’s visit was even more in the public domain than  Smotrich’s  had been. MEA sources state that Prime Minister Netanyahu There are some plurilateral initiatives in which we both have a strong interest. I look forward to that aspect of our deliberations as well. Dr S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister may also be visiting India next perhaps by the year-end.        Though the Israeli finance minister met with his counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman where they inked the new Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) between India and Israel and met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his visit did not dominate media headlines the way Sa’ar’s has done. Diplomats said the conclusion one could draw was that New Delhi was feeling less need to play down its relationship with Israel especially now that a ceasefire had been reached.     4Continued on | P8 E-paper Edit Tharoor in a spot yet again P.6 Mamdani emerges as front-runner GROUND BREAKER | Israeli Foreign Minister sets the ground for PM Netanyahu’s possible visit to India by the end of 2025 Ashwin Ahmad MUMBAI Defence MoU India and Israel inked an MoU on defence cooperation. It was signed by the 17th Joint Working Group (JWG) on defence cooperation in Tel Aviv. Areas for cooperation include strategic dialogues of mutual interest, training, defence industrial cooperation, and capabilities including science & technology, research & development and technological innovation, artificial intelligence and cyber security cooperation. It will enable sharing of advanced technology and would promote co-development and coproduction. The JWG discussed potential areas for collaboration in the field of technology as well as enhancing operational capabilities. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Defence Maj Gen (Res) Amir Baram inked the MoU. NCLAT partial relief to Meta PTI NEW DELHI The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Tuesday set aside a section of a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order that had prohibited WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta Platforms for advertising purposes for five years. M o d ifying the order passed by the CCI on November 18, 2024, the NCLAT struck down section 247.1 of the 158page-long order. However, it upheld the Rs 213 crore penalty imposed on the company and retained the rest of the order. “We are setting aside the findings of the Commission insofar as it holds breach of Section 4 (2)(D) and setting aside the directions in paragraph 247.1, (which stated) WhatsApp will not share user data collected on its platform with other data companies or advertising purposes for a period of five years from the date of receipt of this order,” said the NCLAT bench while pronouncing its order orally in open court. “In respect of such sharing of data for advertising purposes, the rest of the impugned order is upheld. 4Continued on | P8 HC rejects teachers’ plea, upholds policy of e-attendance Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The principal bench of the Madhya Pradesh high court in Jabalpur on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed byteachers against the mandatory e-attendance system, upholding the state’s policy. The court said there was no need to interfere in a system that ensured transparency. This ruling confirms that the e-attendance system will remain in force for government school teachers in Madhya Pradesh.  The ruling upholds the state’s e-attendance policy, meaning all government teachers will be required to usethe system to mark their attendance. However, a petition of 27 aggrieved educators is still pending in the HC, challenging themandatory implementation of the ‘HamareShikshak’ (Our Teachers)app for electronicattendance marking. The next hearing is on November 7. The teachers said that many of them did not have high-quality smartphones. The monthlycost of data packs and keeping mobile batteries charged were also challenges. Many schoolsfaced network connectivity Pulled 25 mn out of poverty: Sitharaman More electricity to farmers will lead to salary cut: Power Co PTI NEW DELHI Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said India is on its way to becoming the world’s third-largest economy, standing out as one of the fastest-growing nations globally. Addressing students at the Delhi School of Economics, she said India today stands distinctly on its feet because of its economic strength. “What is making us literally stand out is the fast movement from the tenth lar- gest economy in 2014 to fifth and the fourth, and now sooner, probably to the third.” She said the government has been able to pull 25 million out of multi-dimensional poverty. 5 dead, 14 hurt as passenger train hits goods train in Chhattisgarh Sitharaman noted that the balance sheets of public sector banks have improved significantly compared to the twin balance sheet problem they faced 7–8 years ago. She expressed confidence that the Centre would meet the fiscal deficit target of 4.4% for the current financial year. Helipad dug up before my arrival, CM says in Patna Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL PTI is said to be critical, he added. The railway authorities have mobilised all resources at the spot, and required measures are being taken for the treatment of the injured persons, the officials said. The visuals show a coach of the passenger train mounted onto a wagon of the goods train. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said during a rally at Maner in Patna on Tuesday that the RJD had dug up the helipad before his arrival. Yadav told the crowd that the RJD might do whatever it wished, but nothing would come in his way of meeting the people of Patna. He said he was even ready to risk his life to meet the people. RJD candidate Bhai Virendra is contesting from Patna. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was also in the capital of Bihar on Tuesday. The helipad was made for Tejashwi. At the same place, another helipad was to be made for the MP CM. After Tejashwi left, the RJD workers dug up the helipad, so the issue was raised. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 BILASPUR At least five persons were killed and 14 others injured after a passenger train collided with a goods train from behind near Bilaspur station in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, railway officials said. The incident took place around 4 pm when the MEMU (mainline electric multiple unit) passenger train was heading to Bilaspur from Gevra (in neighbouring Korba district), they said. When it was between Gatora and Bilaspur railway stations, the passenger train rammed into a goods train from behind, the officials said. "So far, five deaths have been confirmed in the accident. Four others are still trapped inside the wreckage and efforts are on to evacuate them," Bilaspur Collector Sanjay Agrawal told PTI. The goods train was also moving in the same direction as that of the passenger train, he said. The injured passengers have been shifted to Apollo Hospital and Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) hospital in Bilaspur. The condition of one of them Agencies Two separate courts have ordered immigration officials not to deport an Indian-origin man who spent over four decades in prison before his murder conviction was overturned - a case that has come to symbolise one of the most tragic miscarriages of justice in the US. Subramanyam Vedam, 64, who was born in Mumbai and moved to the US as an infant, is currently detained at a shortterm holding centre in Alexandria, Louisiana. Vedam, a legal permanent resident known as “Subu,” was transferred there from central Now & then Pennsylvania last week, relatives said. An immigration judge stayed his deportation on Thursday until the Bureau of Immigration Appeals decides whether to review his case, a process that could take several months. Vedam’s lawyers also secured a stay the same day in the US District Court in Penn- sylvania but said the case may now be on hold given the immigration court ruling. Vedam came to the US legally from India as a baby and grew up in State College, Pennsylvania, where his father taught physics at Penn State University. He was serving a life sentence for the 1980 murder of a friend before his convic- Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL An old order of the Power Distribution Company on electricity supply to Krishi feeders reissued on Monday has raised a controversy. The Madhya Pradesh Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company issued the order saying if the power is supplied to the farmers for more than ten hours, the company will cut the salary of its officers and employees. According to the order, if the operator supplies elec- DGCA moots quicker refunds, cancellations ‘Excess supply poses feeder accident risk’ According to Kshitij Singhal, Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company, farmers are being provided electricity for 10 hours. Supplying electricity for more than the scheduled hours under the influence of anti-social elements increases the possibility of accidents on agricultural feeders. This also causes problems in the supply on domestic feeders. Moreover, it leads to technical and commercial losses, resulting in financial loss to the company. There is no shortage of electricity in the state tricity to the farmers for more than ten hours in a day, he will lose a day’s salary. If electricity is supplied for over ten hours in two days, the junior engineer will lose a day’s salary. NEW DELHI tion was overturned earlier this year - more than 43 years after he was first arrested. He was released from state prison on October 3, only to be taken straight into immigration custody. The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking to deport Vedam over his no-contest plea to charges of LSD delivery filed when he was about 20. His lawyers argue that the four decades he wrongly spent in prison - during which he earned multiple degrees, including an MBA, and mentored hundreds of inmates - should outweigh the drug case. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Similarly, if electricity is supplied for more than ten hours for five days in a month, the deputy general manager will lose a day’s salary. 4Continued on | P8 India’s top 1% grew richer by 62% since 2000: G20 report NEW DELHI PTI issues. The app also experienced server errors and faceverification issues. The petitioners alleged that higher officials were forcing teachers to use the eattendance appby threatening to withhold their salaries. They have demanded that attendance berecorded using biometric machines or the signature system in the employee register bemaintained as before. The high court had asked the petitioner teachers to clarify whether they had actuallyattempted to mark attendance using the app. The government had been directed to submitdata on schools where the e-attendance system was already in place, advocate AnshumanSingh said. No changes in limits of admin units from Jan 1 till March 31, 2027 BHOPAL PTI Air passengers may soon be allowed to cancel or amend their tickets without additional charges within 48 hours of booking, with DGCA proposing significant changes to ticket refund norms. According to the draft Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), airlines will have to provide a “look-in option” for 48 hours after booking a ticket. During this period, passengers can cancel or amend their tickets without paying any additional fees, except for the normal prevailing fare of the revised flight. However, this facility will not apply if the booked flight’s departure is less than five days away for domestic flights and 15 days for international flights. Beyond 48 hours, passengers will have to pay the relevant cancellation charges for any amendments. Respite for Indian-origin man as US courts halt deportation PHILADELPHIA An arbitrary order, says LoP Court said there was no need to interfere in system that ensured transparency India’s richest 1% expanded their wealth by 62% between 2000 and 2023, according to a new report commissioned by the South African Presidency of the G20. The study, led by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, has warned that global inequality has reached “emergency” levels, threatening democracy, economic stability, and climate progress. The findings come from the G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, which includes economists Jayati Ghosh, Winnie Byanyima, and Imraan Valodia. The report said that globally, the top 1% captured 41% of all new wealth created between 2000 and 2024, while the bottom half of humanity received just 1%. It noted that intercountry inequality appeared to have reduced because of the rise in per capita incomes in populous nations like China and India, which slightly lowered the share of high-income nations in global GDP. Between 2000 and 2023, the No changes can be made in the limits of administrative units of the state from January 1 till March 31, 2027 because the administrative boundaries will freeze from December 31 for Census 2027. In otherwords, changes in the administrative unitssuch as blocks, tehsils etccan be madeonlyby December 31, 2025. In the meantime, for the Census 2027 work,directives have been issued for preparation of population lists of villages, hamlets, smallhuman settlements, colonies and slums in wards of urban bodies. Gopichand Hinduja passes away at 85 PTI LONDON richest 1% increased their share of wealth in over half of all countries, covering 74% of the global population. “In India, the top 1% have grown their share of wealth by 62% over this period (2000–2023); this figure is 54% in China,” it stated. Gopichand P Hinduja, chairman of the globe-spanning Hinduja Group and one of Britain’s most prominent Indian-origin industrialists, passed away in London at the age of 85 after a long illness, sources close to his family said. Fondly known as ‘GP’ in business circles, Gopichand P Hinduja had been unwell for the past few weeks and died in a London hospital, they said. Gopichand, who belonged to the second generation of the Hinduja family, took over as chairman following the death of his elder brother Srichand in May 2023. He is survived by his wife, Sunita, sons Sanjay and Dheeraj, and daughter, Rita. “With a heavy heart, I share with you the tragic loss of our beloved friend, Mr GP Hinduja, who has departed for his heavenly abode,” said Lord Rami Ranger, a close associate of the British Indian industrialist. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Widening Inequality n A G20 report says top 1% globally captured 41% of new wealth created in 2000-2024 n In next 10 yrs, $70 tn of inherited wealth will pass down generations n Inequality growing in more than 8 in 10 of the world’s countries n 83% of countries, accounting for 90% of world population, met World Bank’s definition of high inequality n Nations with high inequality 7 times more likely to experience democratic decline