FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLII No. 245 | INDORE | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 11, 2026 | Pages 18 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in Sports BUMRAH FIRES AT FULL TILT, ABHISHEK UNDER CLOUD P.16 Family pension to cover unmarried, widow & divorced daughters Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Now unmarried, widowed and divorced daughters will also be eligible members for family pension in the state. In this regard, the Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Madhya Pradesh Civil Service (Pension) Rules 2026 and MP Civil Service (Commutation of Pension) Rules 2026. In the proposed rules, proce- CABINET DECISIONS dures and authorities have been simplified which will provide convenience to pensioners. Under Rule 44 of the MP Civil Service (Pension) Rules 2026 unmarried, widow and divorced daughters have been included among the eligible members for family pension. The cabinet also approved the MP Civil Service (National Pension System Implementation) Rules 2026 and MP Civil Service (Payment of Gratuity under National Pension System) rules 2026. These rules will come into effect from April 1, 2026. 4Continued on | P8 Schemes of Tribal dept to continue The Cabinet has approved the continuation of key schemes of the Tribal Affairs Department and the Women and Child Development Department till 2030-31, sanctioning a total of Rs 7,133.17 crore. Of this, Rs 2,350 crore has been earmarked for the PVTG Diet Grant Scheme under the Tribal Affairs Department, Rs 1,703.15 crore for the Integrated Hostel Scheme, and Rs 1,416.91 crore for the CM Rise School Scheme. The decision aims to ensure sustained support for tribal welfare, education infrastructure and child development initiatives across the state over the next several years. Fund for electrification Under the Dhati Aabha Tribal Village Utkarsh Campaign, the Cabinet approved Rs 366.72 crore to electrify 63,077 nonelectrified houses and 650 government offices. Of the total amount, Rs 220.03 crore will be funded by the Central government and Rs 146.69 crore by the State government. ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE MONEY Equity fund inflows ease againas investors flock to gold ETFs UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK Cinema ‘Main shama maangta hoon’ P.18 ACADEMIC LEAP| State forms elite task force to script foreign campus’ entry into 3,700-acre Knowledge City; report in 3 months EDU POWER SHIFT: MP TARGETS GLOBAL GIANTS Atul Gautam INDORE In a significant move to expand the global footprint of higher education and advance the vision of the proposed Knowledge and AI City in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh government has constituted a high-level task force to facilitate the entry of foreign universities into the state. Formed by Department of Public Services Management in accordance with University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, the panel will draft a comprehensive policy to attract reputed international institutions, strengthen academic collaborations and enhance the overall quality of higher education. The initiative is expected to give momentum to the proposed AI Knowledge City, planned across more than 3,700 acres in Bhopal. The task force will be chaired by Prof Santosh Kumar Vishvakarma of IIT Indore. NOTICE TO COACHING CLASS MGMT INDORE A branch manager of CatalyseR coaching centre under Annapurna police station limits was arrested on Monday night for allegedly seeking physical advances from a 15year-old Class 10 student attending classes at the institute. According to police, the incident occurred at the coaching centre on Narendra Tiwari Road. The accused, identified as Aadesh, allegedly behaved inappropriately with the teenager when she arrived for her evening class. In her complaint, the girl DCP Krishna Lalchandani said a notice has been issued to the coaching centre management to verify whether mandatory police verification of the accused had been conducted. “If any lapse is found, action will be taken against the management as well,” he said. The DCP added that police will hold meetings with coaching centre operators across the city, including Bhawarkuan, to ensure strict compliance with staff verification and student safety protocols. stated that he held her hand with ill intent and had been troubling her for several days. After the victim informed her parents, enraged family members reached the centre and allegedly assaulted the accused. On receiving information, police rushed to the spot and took him into custody. Annapurna police station in-charge Ajay Nair confirmed that a case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of the BNS and the POCSO Act. He has been sent to jail. MP Board exams: School’s laxity puts 23 students’ future in dark FP News Service BHIKANGAON As part of the 10-day ‘Shiv-Navratri Festival’ at Mahakaleshwar Temple, the presiding deity was adorned in 'Chhabina' form on the fifth day in Ujjain on Tuesday FP Photo Gross negligence by the management of Gayatri Vidyapeeth Higher Secondary School in Bhikangaon left 23 Class X and XII students ineligible to appear for their board exams after the school failed to submit the examination fees on time. As per reports, the school allegedly failed to submit the examination fees on time and deposited the late fees without the Board of Secondary Educa- E-paper Edit Tokyo’s pivot & India’s calculus P.6 KEY RESPONSIBILITIES ADMIN SUPPORT Review UGC and other state policies on higher education internationalisation and draft a tailored policy for Madhya Pradesh. Recommend regulatory reforms to ease the establishment of foreign university campuses in the state. Assess state-specific academic needs and suggest curriculum enhancements. Promote joint research centres and collaborative projects with global institutions. Facilitate engagement with foreign universities, international agencies and global facilitation bodies to strengthen academic partnerships. The state government may nominate additional members to the Task Force, if required. AIGGPA has been designated as the nodal agency for coordination and progress monitoring. The institute will conduct necessary training programmes and manage logistics, including travel allowances and honorariums as per its norms. The Task Force must submit its detailed report and recommendations within three months of the order’s issuance. he State government’s decision to constitute the high-level task force to attract foreign universities aligns closely with the state’s vision for the upcoming Knowledge and AI City in Bhopal. The AI City is expected to serve as a plug-and-play academic and research ecosystem, making it an ideal location for foreign universities seeking to establish campuses or specialised centres in India. Our focus mostly will be on foreign universities featuring among top-500 institutions in QS Rankings T Prof Rajeev Dixit, Members include Prof Aditya Billore of IIM Indore; Prof Ajay Kumar Kushwaha and Prof Jitendra Agrawal of Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal; Dr Prashant Puranik, Principal of Government De- gree College, Ujjain; and Rishi Garg, Director of AIGGPA, Bhopal, who will serve as member secretary. Representatives from the UGC, Higher Education, Technical Education, and Skill De- CatalyseR manager held over No cut in capital expenses, says CM indecent proposal to minor Our Staff Reporter MUMBAI tion’s permission. As Class 12 board exams commenced on Tuesday, students were left high and dry without admit cards. The board issued a definitive letter stating that since the school bypassed official protocols, no further admit cards would be issued. Desperate parents blocked the national highway until 1.30 am on Monday and have been visiting administrative offices since.  4Continued on | P8 Budget will be worth Rs 4.70L cr Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said there should not be any cut in the capital expenses in the upcoming budget. Yadav made the remark while he was watching the budget presentation in Mantralaya on Tuesday. Budget was presented before Yadav on Tuesday. Before this, it was presented to the cabinet. According to sources, the budget may be worth Rs 4.70 lakh crore. In the previous financial year (2025-26), a budget worth Rs 4.021 lakh crore was presented. Yadav said the revenue expenses may have increased, but there should not be any compromise on the capital expenses. The capital expenses should be increased this year in comparison to the last year, he said. The officers of the finance department spoke about the cut in the state’s share of central taxes. 4Continued on | P8 Vice Chairman, AIGGPA-Bhopal velopment and Employment departments may join as special invitees, subject to approval by Prof Rajeev Dixit, Vice Chairman, Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis. FP News Service The Union government on Tuesday notified sweeping amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, significantly tightening obligations on social media platforms and users to curb the spread of deepfakes and misleading AIgenerated content. Under the revised framework, online platforms such as Instagram and X will be required to take down AI-generated or synthetic content within three hours of it being flagged by a competent authority or a court. This marks a Sufia Chowdhury Dr Manisha Chakraborty of the Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (Bangladesh Socialist Party) is resting after a week of hectic electioneering in Barisal, a river port close to the Bay of Bengal, where she lives and works. Despite the fact that Bangladesh has had two women prime ministers, Chakraborty is a rarity. Of the 1,981 candidates contesting 300 directly elected parliamentary seats, only 76 — less than four per cent — are women. “Some of my opponents want us women to exit public space; others are known to be corrupt. All that we want is a better life for the poor,” Chakra- sharp reduction from the earlier 36-hour window and signals a tougher stance on unlawful and harmful online material. The amendments, issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), formally define “synthetically generated information” to include audio, visual, or audio-visual content that is 4Continued on | P8 Wife’s WhatsApp tip-off lands drug-selling husband in jail Our Staff Reporter In a startling case that underscores both domestic turmoil and civic courage, a woman helped police arrest her own husband for allegedly selling ganja and drugs to college and hostel students in the city. On Monday, the woman sent a WhatsApp message to Commissioner of Police (CP) Santosh Singh, alerting him about her husband’s illegal activities. She also shared a video purportedly showing drugs being sold. After reviewing the footage, CP Singh ordered immediate verification and action. Acting swiftly, a team from Lasudia police station raided the accused’s betel (paan) shop in Mahalaxmi Nagar on Monday night and arrested him. Police later searched his house and seized 1.70 kg of ganja. The woman, a resident of Malharganj, alleged that her husband had been running the illegal trade from both his shop and home, using a weighing scale to prepare ganja and drug packets. “I have two daughters. Because of my husband’s activities, their education is being badly affected,” she said, ex- Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday cited a December 15, 2023 social media post by former Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane’s memoir Four Stars of Destiny was “available now” to challenge publisher Penguin Random House India’s claim that the book has not yet been published. Speaking to reporters in the Parliament House complex on Tuesday, Gandhi read out Naravane’s post on X (then Twitter), which said, “Hello friends. My book is available now. Just follow the link. Happy reading. Jai Hind.” “This is the tweet Mr Naravane has made. The point I am making is either Mr Naravane is lying, and I believe the (former) Army chief, I don’t think he will lie, or Penguin is lying. Both cannot be telling the truth,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. The book was listed for sale on Amazon and also appeared on Walmart’s website, where it was shown as “out of stock”. The ISBN number 9780670099757 and the copyright page mention © Manoj Naravane 2024, with the imprint stating: First pub- DHAKA offgrid INDORE Vidhi Santosh Mehta MUMBAI lished in Penguin Veer by Penguin Random House India 2024. 4Continued on | P8 Women missing from B’desh ballot Three-hour deadline for social media platforms to remove deepfake content MUMBAI If book unpublished, what is Rahul holding? plaining why she decided to approach the police. Public trust in Khaki: CP CP Santosh Singh said the woman’s complaint reflected growing public confidence in law enforcement. “She brought the illegal activity to our notice. I directed officers to verify the matter and take immediate action,” he said, 4Continued on | P8 FP Special BANGLADESH MANDATE borty, better known in her city as the ‘doctor of the poor’, told a street meeting on Monday, hours before campaigning officially ended for the nationwide polls to be held on Thursday. She is unlikely to win the election, pitted against heavyweights from the BNP and Jamaat, but a large number of poor people in her consti- tuency have paid out of their own pockets to put her up as a candidate. “I support her. She may be a woman and a Hindu, but she is a good person and wants the best for us,” said Irshad Ali, a tempo driver. Jamaat, which has not fielded any women candidates, has said in the past that women should not be trusted with leadership roles. Ironically, Jamaat has been part of a coalition government led by Khaleda Zia. Islamists who now decry women’s participation in politics have also, in the past, worked with Sheikh Hasina when she ruled Bangladesh for 15 long years. 4Continued on | P8 Bhagirathpura toll 35 as 2 more die Indore: The death toll in the Bhagirathpura contaminated water tragedy has reportedly risen to 35 with two more fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours. A two-year-old girl and a 75-year-old man died during treatment, intensifying concerns among residents. Full report on pg3 No-confidence motion against Speaker moved Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar TMC soft pedals NEW DELHI Trinamool Congress did not join other Opposition parties in signing the resolution seeking the removal of Lok Sabha Speaker. TMC national secretary Abhishek Banerjee said, “We support the demand of the I.N.D.I.A alliance but we should give time. If we jump in haste then there will be no difference between us and the BJP. Our approach should be constructive.” The Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a no-confidence notice against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla following which, as per the norms, the Speaker decided to skip the proceedings of the House till it was disposed of. The notice was signed by nearly 120 lawmakers from various opposition parties. Announcing the move, Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogi said the notice has been moved under Article 94 of the Constitution to remove the Speaker. Giving the details of the move, Gogoi said, “At 1.14 pm we submitted a motion expressing no-confidence (in and) asking for the removal of Speaker Om Birla as per 94(C). The concern has been the LoP (the Leader of the Opposition, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi) has not been allowed to speak (in Parliament) on numerous occasions. Many opposition parties share this concern.” 4Continued on | P8