FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 15 No. 193 | BHOPAL | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 25, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports Bihar batting blitz shatters World Record P.14 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL UJJAIN MONEY PRESS PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Trade deals, the way forward P.6 UNION BUDGET FY26-27 SHOULD PRIORITISE WIDENING TAX BASE Cinema Red-hot Christmas glam P.16 Cabinet hits 2-yr mark, ministers lag behind Kansana, Panwar, and Nagar fail Nitendra Sharma BHOPAL Twenty-eight ministers took oath on December 25, 2023. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav completed two years in office on December 13, but other ministers are doing so on Thursday. The ministers are presenting their performance reports following instructions from the state government. fp Briefs SRINAGAR Balloons with Pak flag seized Security forces seized 10 balloons carrying a Pakistani flag spotted landing near Sarna Top, Khadinayar, Baramulla, by 46 RR, 46 Rashtriya Rifles patrol. A second PIA-inscribed balloon was retrieved from a Kupwara orchard tree after locals alerted authorities. Details awaited. BRASILIA/NEW DELHI Lula likely to visit India Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may visit India end-January or early-February 2026 to boost ties in trade, investment, defence, energy, agriculture, technology. PM Narendra Modi met Lula at G20 Johannesburg last month and in Brasília in July. Official confirmation awaited. NEW DELHI Michel’s bail terms modified Delhi court modified Christian Michel James’ bail terms in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case. Special Judge Sanjay Jindal allowed release without passport deposit but barred exit via FRRO. Advocate Aljo K Joseph questioned feasibility without documents. UNDERPERFORMERS LAGGING Aidal Singh Kansana (Agriculture), Nagar Singh Chouhan (SC Welfare), and Karan Singh Verma (Revenue) have shown little impact in their departments. Narayan Singh Panwar, Narayan Singh Kushwaha, Inder Singh Parmar, Dileep Jaiswal, and Krishna Gaur have not delivered significant departmental outcomes. But there are a few ministers who have failed to present their performance report. Agriculture Minister Aidal Singh Kansana has yet to lay hold of his department. He does not regularly review the functioning of the depart- ment, and such a severe shortage of fertiliser has occurred in the state this year. The performance of the Minister for SC Welfare, Nagar Singh Chouhan, was not visible. He has not shown much interest in the department in the past two years. Since the day Chouhan was deprived of the Forest and Environment Department, he has been taking care of only the SC Welfare Department, but he has not done anything out of the ordinary. Revenue Minister Karan Singh Verma was in the cabinet earlier. Although there are claims that the revenue department is improving, the ground reality tells a different tale. The people are facing problems in getting their lands demarcated and divided. 4Continued on | P8 ED charges Louise of misuse ED filed a charge sheet in PMLA court against Dr Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, Louise Khurshid, and Mohammad Athar for alleged misuse of Rs 71.50 lakh grant for artificial limb camps. Assets worth Rs 45.92 lakh attached earlier. Official said funds were diverted for personal gains. few ministers have courted controversies in two years. The Minister for the Tribal Welfare Department, Vijay Shah, raised controversies by issuing statements. His remark on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Ladli Behna kicked up a dust. Minister of State Narendra Shivaji Patel also hogged the limelight because of disputes. Whether it was related to creating a ruckus in a res- A SPACE MILESTONE| Direct-to-phone broadband mission marks commercial space milestone; ISRO wins space-commerce trust Bahubali lifts ‘BlueBird 6’, heaviest LVM3 payload AYODHYA BYPASS NGT halts tree felling for 10-lane project till Jan 8 PTI Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL “A significant stride in India's space sector… The successful LVM3-M6 launch, placing the heaviest satellite ever launched from Indian soil… marks a proud milestone in India's space journey India scripted a new commercial space landmark on Wednesday as ISRO’s 43.5-metre-tall Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3-M6) lifted off from Sriharikota at 8:55 a.m., carrying the next-generation communications satellite BlueBird 6 (BlueBird Block-2) built by US innovator AST SpaceMobile. The satellite aims to beam broadband directly to smartphones from space without special ground equipment, enabling seamless connectivity for standard mobile devices. Supported by two S200 solid boosters, the LVM3-M6 rocket launched from the second launch pad, around 135 km east of Chennai, after a 24hour countdown. ISRO executed a careful strategy, delaying the liftoff by 90 seconds from the original schedule of 8:54 a.m., adjusting it to 8:55 a.m. and 30 seconds for mission precision. Approximately 15 minutes into the flight, the spacecraft is expected to separate and reach its designated Low Earth Orbit at an altitude of 520 km, ISRO confirmed. The satellite will settle at around 520 km orbital altitude, making this the heaviest payload ever launched by LVM3 from Indian soil and the largest commercial communications satellite put into Low Earth Orbit using India’s heaviest launcher. The mission was enabled under a commercial agreement between NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL)—ISRO’s commercial arm—and AST and Science, LLC (AST SpaceMobile). National Green Tribunal (NGT), Central Zone Bench, has ordered an immediate stay on tree felling for the proposed 10-lane widening of Ayodhya Bypass Road in Bhopal until the next hearing on January 8, 2026. Order came during a special hearing held on Wednesday. The bench comprising Justice Pushpa Satyanarayana and Expert Member Sudhir Kumar Chaturvedi heard the matter. Project involves widening a 16-km stretch from Asaram Tiraaha to Ratnagiri Tiraaha, which may require felling 8,000–12,000 trees. Over 1,500 trees have already been cut by NHAI. The petition was filed by environmental activist Nitin Saxena, alleging project authorities failed to comply with Madhya Pradesh Preservation of Trees (Urban Areas) Act, 2001, and earlier NGT directions. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Narendra Modi Prime Minister Spl session hearing Petitioner Nitin Saxena told Free Press that an application for special session hearing was filed and accepted by Tribunal a few days ago. “Hearing conducted by jury members from Chennai, after which stay order was issued till next date,” he said. NHAI’s stand NHAI Project Director Devansh Nuwal said all necessary permissions from CEC were obtained, and work carried out as per approvals, without violations. Way forward “After this stay, we will proceed based on advice of our legal team,” Nuwal said. Minutes of CEC meeting were submitted along with other documents. “It is unclear whether Tribunal rejected MoM or did not receive it.” Govt clears runway for 3 new airlines Agencies NEW DELHI The government has granted initial approval to two new airlines after the recent crisis in IndiGo operations that stranded passengers for days and exposed dominance concerns around the largest domestic carrier. The civil aviation ministry issued a no-objection certificate this week to three regional airlines — Shankh Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress, Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a post on X. He said the government wants more competition in the domestic aviation market. Al Hind Air, promoted by the Kerala-based Alhind Group, plans to start operations in southern India with a fleet of ATR turboprop aircraft and is obtaining an Air Operator Certificate. FlyExpress has stated on its website that it is “coming soon,” while Shankh Air is set to begin commercial operations next year. India’s domestic aviation market functions as a duopoly, with IndiGo holding 65% share and Air India 27%. Smaller carriers SpiceJet and Akasa account for the rest. 4Continued on | P8 Pentagon report flags Co-op banks weakened by fake farmer loan waiver: Sarang cr Patwari FUTURE PLANS China’s ‘core interest’ Rs 300saysaid slams Sarang given, min claim on Arunachal BHOPAL Agencies WASHINGTON, DC A Pentagon report submitted to the US Congress has highlighted China’s assertion that India’s Arunachal Pradesh falls under Beijing’s expanding list of “core interests.” The report situates this claim within China’s long-term national strategy of achieving the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” by 2049, with 2049 also marked as a centenary milestone of the People’s Republic. According to the document, China’s leadership has widened the definition of its “core interests” to cover Taiwan, maritime disputes in the South China Sea, the Senkaku Islands, and Arunachal Pradesh—India’s northeastern state. Chinese officials have portrayed the unification of contested territories, especially Taiwan, as a “natural requirement” for national rejuvenation, aligning territorial consolidation with national Report flags China naming Arunachal as core interest, linking it to Xi’s 2049 military-economic strategy and push to prevent stronger US-India ties identity and strategic ambition. The assessment outlines three non-negotiable “core interests” central to China’s rejuvenation: the continued control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), sustained economic development, and the defence and expansion of China’s territorial and sovereignty claims. The report stresses that the CCP is highly sensitive to perceived threats to its rule, including domestic criticism or external narratives that challenge its legitimacy. 4Continued on | P8 offgrid Cooperative and Sports Minister Vishwas Sarang said cooperative societies became financially weak due to fake farmer loan waivers carried out by former 15-month-old Congress government. To help cooperative banks recover, the KHELO MP YOUTH GAMES 2025: Scheduled from January 10–31; participants will get priority for state team selection. SPORTS TOURISM: Initiatives underway to promote sports tourism and boost the state economy. BJP-led state government provided Rs 300 crore, distributed among six cooperative banks at an average of Rs 50 crore each. This doubled their loan distribution capacity to Rs 600 CAT 2025 result declared: 12 candidates score 100%ile PERCENTILE NO. OF STUDENTS 100 12 26 99.99 99.98 Biswajeet Banerjee AYODHYA bearing a golden sheen, is estimated to be worth between Rs 25 crore and Rs 30 crore, sources said. The idol was transported from Karnataka to Ayodhya in a specially arranged van and reached the Ram temple campus on Tuesday evening at around 3.30 pm. The journey covered a distance of nearly 1,750 km and took five to six days. The idol was unpacked within the temple premises. Standing about 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide, the idol is believed to weigh nearly five Shah to attend Abhyudaya MP Growth Summit today 4Continued on | P8 Congress State President Jitu Patwari criticised Minister Vishvas Sarang for calling farmers under the Rs 2 lakh loan waiver “fake”. Patwari said 26 lakh farmers benefited under Kamal Nath’s scheme and demanded that Sarang apologise to the farmers for his remarks in the Assembly. Russia eyes N-power on moon by 2036 US too in race for lunar energy Our Staff Reporter Agencies MOSCOW the identity of the donor is not yet known. He added that the idol is being examined and its full details will be shared after the assessment is complete. According to sources, the idol was jointly commissioned by a group of devotees from Karnataka. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend Abhyudaya Madhya Pradesh Growth Summit in Gwalior on Thursday, coinciding with the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. CM Mohan Yadav will also be present on the occasion. During the programme, incentives will be offered to investors under the Industrial Promotion Policy, and land will be allocated for investment proposals exceeding Rs 2 lakh crore. Dedication and foundation stones will be laid for industrial projects worth more than Rs 10,000 crore. The summit theme, “Nivesh Se Rojgar – Atal Sankalp, Ujjawal Madhya Pradesh”, aims to set a new direction for development in the state. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Russia has unveiled a bold plan to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon by 2036 to energise its lunar programme and a joint Russian-Chinese research station, intensifying a new era of space competition where energy has become the currency of long-term exploration. The announcement comes as NASA, in August, declared its intent to deploy a nuclear reactor on the lunar surface by the first quarter of fiscal year 2030. “We’re in a race to the Moon, in a race with China to the Moon. And to have a base on the Moon, we need energy,” US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said, adding that the US was currently behind but racing to catch up. His remarks underlined a strategic pivot: sustainable power is essential not only for lunar bases but also for onward human missions to Mars.Rus- 26 (2 from MP) INDORE STUDENT DEVAL MAHESHWARI was among two state toppers with an outstanding 99.99 percentile. A large number of candidates from Indore also crossed the 99 percentile mark, raising hopes of Deval Maheswari calls from premier IIMs. quintals, though its exact weight is currently being assessed. The metal used in the idol has not yet been identified. The sculpture reflects the tradition of South Indian craftsmanship, with skilled artisans from Thanjavur involved in its creation. Dr Anil Mishra, trustee of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said crore. Sarang was speaking to media while presenting two years’ achievements of cooperative and sports departments on Wednesday. He said that farmers have been adversely affected by scams or irregularities by officials. To prevent such issues, a Kisan Nyay Scheme is being introduced. Efforts are being made to connect Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with at least three businesses. For defaulter farmers, a One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme will be implemented. BHOPAL/GWALIOR (2 from MP) Anonymous devotee donates `30 cr idol for Ram Temple campus A grand and highly valuable idol, donated by an anonymous devotee from Karnataka, is set to be installed in the Ram temple campus in Ayodhya in the coming days. The idol, adorned with diamonds, emeralds and other precious gemstones and taurant in Gwalior or threatening the cops at a police station, Patel drew attention. Similarly, the minister of state Pratima Bagri hogged the limelight for her brother’s involvement in ganja trafficking and for demanding a probe into a road construction. Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda and Minister Govind Singh Rajput have also been in discussion for raising disputes. NEW DELHI Our Staff Reporter LUCKNOW CAUGHT IN ROW sia’s state space corporation Roscosmos said it had signed a contract with the Lavochkin Association aerospace company to build a lunar power plant. While Roscosmos stopped short of explicitly calling it nuclear, its statement confirmed participation by Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, and the Kurchatov Institute, the country’s premier nuclear research centre, signalling the reactor’s likely nature and strategic importance. Roscosmos said the facility would power rovers, a lunar observatory, and critical infrastructure at the Russian-Chinese International Lunar Research Station. 4Continued on | P8