FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 15 No. 191 | BHOPAL | TUESDAY | DECEMBER 23, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports Vaishnavi stuns on debut as ‘focus’ mantra fuels India’s crushing win P.14 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL UJJAIN MONEY PRESS PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Numbers and nuances P.6 Gold jumps to record high of `1.38 lakh per 10g Cinema India's unstoppable 2025 entertainment wave P.12 GOVT TO LAUNCH STUDY ON COWS Rs 2,508 crore for 4-lane 22-storied building of Education department will be built in Bhopal: Rao Uday Pragap Singh Barwaha-Dhamnod road Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The School Education Department has planned to open such schools as will teach the Vedas, Sanskrit, and yoga. Research on cows will be conducted in these schools, and Adi Shankaracharya Gurukuls will be set up on the pattern of the Central Government’s Sandipani schools. The work will start with pilot projects in Rajgarh and Narsinghpur. The School Education and Transport Minister Rao Uday Pratap Singh gave the information at a press conference in Bhopal on Monday. Book fairs will be organised in blocks in the current academic session so that the students of private schools may also get books at cheaper rates, the minister said. The school principals have been given the responsibility for admission of students to reduce the number of dropouts. The plans are also afoot to set up a 22-storey building to house all offices of the School Education Department in Bhopal, Singh said. According to the minister, only 80% of teachers mark their presence through e-attendance. 4Continued on | P8 ACTION AT CHECK POINTS TO CONTINUE, BUSES TO RUN The School Education Minister Rao Uday Pratap Singh said after the closure of checkpoints, forty are still functioning. Officials act against the guilty after getting complaints, he said, adding that a probe will be ordered into a case of a man who was found hanging from a truck over extortion. A video of the incident went viral. Action against the guilty through the checkposts will continue, and the work is underway to run bus services, he said. The work on a traffic survey is on the verge of completion, and several rules are being prepared to run buses, he said. TRADE BOOST | Agreement will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 95 per cent of New Zealand’s exports of items India-New Zealand FTA to bring $20 bn investment PTI NEW DELHI India and New Zealand on Monday said they have concluded talks on a free trade deal that will give India tarifffree access to the island nation's markets, bring in USD 20 billion of investment over the next 15 years and help double bilateral trade in the next five years. The third free-trade agreement this year, following a similar pact with the UK in July and another with Oman earlier this month, will give India more temporary employment visas, easier access for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. While the agreement will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 95 per cent of New Zealand's exports of items ranging from wool, coal, wood, wine, to avocados and blueberries to India, New Delhi made no concessions on allowing imports of dairy, onions, sugar, spices, fp Briefs BEIJING Online China visa applications The Chinese Embassy in Delhi has launched the 'China Online Visa Application System' for Indian passport holders to apply for visas online, a social media report here said on Monday. The process is easier than the previous one, where applicants were required to present many paper documents in person, Shenzhen-based Chinese online portal Greater Bay Area reported. COLOMBO Jaishankar in Colombo External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar arrived in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, on Monday. Sri Lankan Deputy Tourism Minister Ruwan Ranasinghe received him at the airport. "Landed in Colombo this evening. Thank Deputy Tourism Minister Ruwan Ranasinghe for the warm reception. Look forward to my meetings with Sri Lankan leadership tomorrow," EAM Jaishankar posted on X. Union Minister Piyush Goyal with New Zealand Minister Todd McClay during a meeting in New Delhi edible oils and rubber to protect farmers and domestic industry. New Zealand, which committed to investing USD 20 billion in India over the next 15 years in manufacturing, infrastructure, services, innovation Air India B777 plane suffers engine shutdown PTI NEW DELHI A Mumbai-bound Air India's Boeing 777 aircraft made an emergency landing in the national capital in less than one hour after taking off due to right engine shutdown on Monday morning, according to sources. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will be conducting a probe and the civil aviation ministry has sought details from Air India about the incident. The plane, carrying around 335 people, was airborne for nearly an hour before returning to Delhi. The aircraft made an emergency landing, the sources said. "The crew operating flight AI887 from Delhi to Mumbai on 22 December decided to return to Delhi shortly after take-off due to a technical issue as per standard operating procedure," Air India said in a statement. 4Continued on | P8 and job creation, will also get quota-based tariff cuts for kiwifruit and apple exports. The deal is expected to be signed in the first half of 2026 and aims to double bilateral trade to USD 5 billion in five years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon before the two leaders jointly announced the successful conclusion of the "historic, ambitious and mutually beneficial India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA)," according to an official statement. "The FTA would significantly deepen bilateral economic engagement, enhance market access, promote investment flows, strengthen strategic cooperation between the two countries, and also open up new opportunities for innovators, entrepreneurs, farmers, MSMEs, students and youths of both countries across various sectors," the MEA said. The agreement is likely to be signed and implemented in about 7-8 months. 4Continued on | P8 NATIONAL HERALD CASE HC seeks Gandhis’ reply on ED plea PTI Goyal: India in advance stage of negotiations for pact with US PTI NEW DELHI India is at an advanced stage of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with the US, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday. US Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer was recently here with his team to take stock of these talks. The two-day talks concluded on December 11. "We are already at an advanced stage in our discussions with the US," Goyal said here while talking to the media about the conclusion of negotiations for the India-New Zealand free trade agreement. He also said that India has so far finalised FTAs with three members of the Five Eyes (FVEY) alliance - Australia, UK and New Zealand. The five countries of the intelligence sharing network are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. India is also in the process of resuming talks for a trade agreement with Canada. 500 flights delayed at Delhi airport due to fog PTI NEW DELHI NEW DELHI The Delhi High Court on Monday asked Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others to respond to a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the order of the trial court that refused to take cognisance of its chargesheet against them in the National Herald case. Justice Ravinder Dudeja issued notice to the Gandhis and others on the main petition as well as on the ED's application seeking a stay on the December 16 trial court order, which held that cognisance of the agency's complaint in the case was "impermissible in law" as it was not founded on an FIR. The high court listed the matter for further hearing on March 12, 2026. Besides Gandhis, the high court issued notices to Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, Young Indian, Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd and Sunil Bhandari on the ED's plea. While Solicitor General Tushar Mehta represented the ED in the case, senior advocates Abhishek Singhvi and R S Cheema represented the Gandhis. In its order, the trial court had said that an investigation and the consequent prosecution complaint (equivalent to a chargesheet) pertaining to the offence of money laundering is "not maintainable" in the absence of an FIR for the offence mentioned in the schedule to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It said the agency's probe stemmed from a private complaint and not an FIR. 4Continued on | P8 More than 500 flights were delayed, and at least 14 flights were cancelled at the Delhi airport due to bad weather and low visibility conditions. An official said that 14 flights, including 6 arrivals and 8 departures, were cancelled. These also include international flights. DIAL operates the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), the country's largest airport, which generally handles around 1,300 flights daily. More than 500 flights were delayed at the airport, and the average delay time was a little over 30 minutes, according to information available on the flight tracking website Flightradar24.com. Dense fog has been disrupting operations at various airports for the past several days. Cabinet gives administrative approval Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Cabinet gave administrative approval of Rs 2508.21 crore to turn the two-lane BarwahaDhamnod road into a fourlane highway with paved shoulders. The road length is 62.795 km. The sanctioned cost will cover land acquisition, upgradation and construction. Under the project, 10 bypasses, 5 big bridges, 23 middle bridges and 56 medium junctions will be constructed. Under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), 40% of the construction cost will be borne by Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation through the state highway fund. The remaining 60% will come from the state budget as half-yearly annuity payments over 15 years dur- Online Report NEW DELHI The Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi suspended consular and visa services on Monday as relations between the two sides went into a free fall following the death of country’s youth leader, Sharif Osman Hadi, sources said. On Sunday, India suspended visa services at the Indian Visa Application Centre in Chattogram, a southeastern port city in Bangladesh. "Due to unavoidable circumstances, all consular and visa services from the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi are temporarily suspended until further notice," the Bangladesh mission stated, reported. India’s move in Chattogram came days after scores of people gathered outside the Assistant High Commission of India (AHCI) in Bangladesh’s second-largest city. The Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd delivered its fifth warship of the year to the Navy on Monday. The Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) Anjadip is the third of eight such platforms being built at the shipyard. The ship was delivered to the Navy at the Chennai Port Trust. Anjadip is the 115th warship built by GRSE and the 77th warship delivered to the Navy. The ASW SWC was accepted by Rear Admiral Gautam Marwaha, VSM, CSO (Tech), Eastern Naval Command. GRSE delivered four warships in 2025 ahead of Anjadip. These include the Advanced Guided Missile Frigate Himgiri, the first two ASW SWCs of the series Ar- nala and Androth, and the Survey Vessel (Large) Ikshak. All four have since been commissioned into the Navy, marking a rare achievement by any shipyard in India, ac- ing the operation period. Meanwhile, approval was given for continuation of programmes under Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 from 2026-27 till 2030-31. The Cabinet also okayedRs 197.13 crore for the second phase construction of Madhya Pradesh Dharamshala National Law University, Jabalpur. WINDS programme Cabinet approved implementation of Weather Information Network and Data Hasina: Hostility towards India being manufactured by extremists System (WINDS) under PM Crop Insurance Scheme. Automatic weather stations will be installed at tehsil level and automatic rain gauges at gram panchayat level. Rs 434.58 crore have been sanctioned for this project. The WINDS programme will provide weather data to speed up crop insurance implementation. High-end weather data will be made available on a single digital platform of the Centre. The scheme is expected to run for five years, with total expenditure of Rs 434.58 crore. Another student leader shot in head amid B’desh unrest PTI DHAKA With Bangladesh grappling with unrest after a fresh spell of violence last week, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mounted a strong critique of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, accusing it of empowering extremist elements, stoking anti-India sentiment and weakening democratic structures, developments she said endanger both domestic stability and regional security. Addressing concerns over growing hostility towards India and the safety of Indian diplomats, Hasina alleged that recent tensions were deliberately engineered. Unidentified gunmen on Monday shot in the head Motaleb Shikder, a second leader of Bangladesh's violent student-led 2024 uprising. The attack took place in southwestern Khulna city, days after the killing of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. "The Khulna Division head of NCP (National Citizen Party) and central coordinator of the party's workers front, Motaleb Shikder, was shot a few minutes ago," NCP's joint principal coordinator Mahmuda Mitu said in a Facebook post. Mitu, a doctor, said Shikder was rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital in a critical condition. The Kaler Kantha newspaper, quoting hospital sources, said Shikder was shot on the left side of his head, and he was bleeding profusely when he was brought to the facility, where the doctors started emergency treatment. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Agencies NEW DELHI H-1B visa holders who returned to renew work permits stranded Agencies NEW DELHI Indian H-1B visa holders who travelled back this month to renew their American work permits are stranded amid their appointments being abruptly rescheduled by US consular offices, the Washington Post reported, citing three immigration lawyers. The Indian high-skilled workers had appointments cancelled between December 15 and 26, the lawyers said, a period coinciding with the US holiday season. In emails viewed by The Washington Navy gets anti-submarine warfare SWC ‘Anjadip’ Agencies D uring interaction with ministers before the cabinet meeting, CM Mohan Yadav informed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Gwalior and Rewa on December 25. In Gwalior, he will attend Abhyodaya Growth Programme, and in Rewa, Agriculture Convention. Vrindavan Villages will be constructed in villages with 500 cattle and a population of 2000. So far, such villages have been selected in 193 assembly areas. B’desh suspends visa services for Indians in tit-for-tat move offgrid CHENNAI SHAH’S VISIT cording to an official statement from GRSE. "Anjadip's delivery also comes less than four months after that of the Androth on September 13, 2025, highlighting GRSE's capability to churn out warships," the statement read. Anjadip is also an example of how the shipyard has focused on Atmanirbharta in defence shipbuilding. 4Continued on | P8 Post, the State Department told visa holders their interviews were being delayed after the implementation of the Trump administration's new social media vetting policy, "to ensure that no applicants... pose a threat to U.S. national security or public safety." The United States has expanded its review of social media and online presence to cover all H-1B speciality occupation workers and their H-4 dependents, the US Embassy in India said on December 10. In a statement, a US Embassy spokesperson explained that the Department of State already conducts online presence checks for student and exchange visitor visa categories such as F, M, and J. Starting December 15, this review also included H-1B and H-4 applicants. Emily Neumann, a partner at the Houston-based immigration firm Reddy Neumann Brown PC, said she had at least 100 clients stranded in India. 4Continued on | P8 Starlink in crosshairs AP MOSCOW Two NATO-nation intelligence services suspect Russia is developing a new anti-satellite weapon to target Elon Musk's Starlink constellation with destructive orbiting clouds of shrapnel, with the aim of reining in Western space superiority that has helped Ukraine on the battlefield. Intelligence findings seen by The Associated Press say the so-called "zone-effect" weapon would seek to flood Starlink orbits with hundreds of thousands of high-density pellets, potentially disabling multiple satellites at once but also risking catastrophic collateral damage to other orbiting systems. Analysts who haven't seen the findings say they doubt such a weapon could work without causing uncontrollable chaos in space for companies and countries, including Russia and its ally China, that rely on thousands of orbiting satellites for communications, defense and other vital needs.