Saturday, March 7, 2026 | Vol. 69 No. 129 | 39 Pages Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation l E-paper edition is not a replica of the print edition GAMES NATION Rajasthan doctor Anuj Agnihotri ranks first in UPSC exam, one woman among the top five Cinema Check out our verdict on the latest film and OTT releases In-form Sanju Samson eyes one more matchwinning innings in T20 World Cup final Edit Feminisation of agriculture hasn’t helped women workers MAGNANIMOUS GESTURE? | US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announces a 30-day waiver to enable New Delhi offtake of oil currently stranded at sea. Measure hopes to curb price increase US permits India to buy Russia oil culated the duration of the Iran conflict. By limiting the waiver to 30 days, the United States appears to be signalling that it expects the crisis to ease within Lanka grapples with war fallout at its door temporary approval to buy Russian crude because of the Iran conflict. The step is seen as helping India tide over an uncertain period as global oil markets face renewed volatility. The waiver comes amid escalating tensions in the Middle East that have severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy routes. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | money, nation In one week, 2,950 flights from India disrupted P.K. Balachandran U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled out sending American ground forces into Iran, calling such a move unnecessary even as the United States and Israel intensify their military campaign against Tehran. “A ground invasion would be a waste of time,” Trump said in remarks reported Friday, arguing that U.S. and allied air and naval strikes had already devastated Iran’s military capabilities, according to the New York Post. The comment came as the conflict entered its second week, with Washington continuing airstrikes and naval operations against Iranian targets across the region. Trump also claimed that the Iranian regime had already suffered crippling losses. “They’ve lost everything they can lose,” he said in the same Friday remarks, citing the destruction of naval assets and missile capabilities during the campaign, the New York Post reported. Despite ruling out a ground invasion, Trump signalled a hard-line stance on the political future of Iran, saying the war would only end with the There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender Donald Trump US President collapse of the current regime and the installation of new leadership. “There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender,” the U.S. president said in a statement on Friday, according to Reuters, rejecting the possibility of negotiations with Tehran while hostilities continue. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | Pedit, world MUMBAI Sri Lanka found itself at the centre of geopolitical intrigue this week as opposition leaders alleged that unseen global forces might be trying to drag the island nation into the widening Iran–US–Israel conflict, even as the government struggled to maintain strict neutrality after a deadly naval incident just off its coast. The controversy erupted after Iranian warship IRIS Dena was torpedoed by a US submarine within Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone, 19 nautical miles from southern port city of Galle. The attack killed at least 87 Iranian sailors and left the island nation dealing with the consequences of a conflict being fought thousands of kilometres away. Even before the full details of the tragedy emerged, Sri Lanka’s opposition began raising suspicions in Parliament. Opposition MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake warned it might not have been accidental. “It is possible that an interested party is deliberately trying to draw Sri Lanka into the conflict,” he said, without come under pressure from the US over the handling of another Iranian naval vessel, IRIS Bushehr, which sought help over engine trouble. In the past seven days, more than 2,950 flights of Indian and foreign carriers to and from West Asia have been cancelled, disrupting travel plans for thousands of passengers. Overall, the conflict has plunged the global aviation industry into its most severe disruption since the Covid-19 pandemic, with more than 19,000 flights cancelled across major West Asian airports. Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has witnessed significant disruption to West Asia operations as the escalating conflict triggered widespread flight cancellations across the region. CSMIA alone reported cancellation of 73 flights, including 34 arrivals and 39 departures, as airlines struggled with large-scale airspace closures across the Gulf. Following the outbreak of hostilities on February 28, massive airspace closures across West Asia paralysed one of the world’s most critical transit corridors. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation IRIS Bushehr crew being evacuated in Sri Lanka India denies intel role Top government sources on Friday dismissed as “baseless and preposterous” claims that the Indian Navy had provided intelligence to the United States about an Iranian warship sunk by a US submarine earlier this week. “There is no question of providing any input to the US on the incident. The allegations are completely baseless,” the sources said. The clarification came after speculation in some quarters that India may have shared information about the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which was torpedoed by a US military submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday. naming the suspected actor. National Freedom Front leader and former minister Wimal Weerawansa went further, questioning whether President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government had HOT SPELL TILL MONDAY Social media ban for kids below 16 Devashri Bhujbal MUMBAI Mumbai and its metropolitan region will continue to sizzle over the weekend and early next week as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has sounded a Yellow Alert, warning of hot and humid conditions on Sunday and Monday. No warning has been issued for Saturday. However, the Yellow Alert sounded for Friday will remain in effect till 8.30 am on Saturday. For the second consecutive day on Friday, the Konkan region remained under a Yellow Alert. The Santacruz observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 34.6°C and a minimum temperature of 23.6°C, which was 3.7°C above normal. On Friday, Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) witnessed the first heatwave of the season, with temperatures reaching 39°C. The warning for the heatwave was valid till 8.30 am on Friday. "For the next three to four days, hot and humid con- ditions will prevail, and temperatures will remain above 35°C. No heatwave warning has been issued since the temperature is unlikely to cross 37°C. The district weather forecast for next week will be updated after calculating the weather conditions and patterns," said Sushma Nair, a scientist at IMD Mumbai. As per IMD's hot weather outlook for March to May 2026, March will record above-normal temperatures, and heatwaves are likely in April and May. However, citizens had to endure heatwave-like conditions in the first week of March itself, signalling an early onset of summer. FPJ News Service BENGALURU/AMARAVATI/INDONESIA Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced a ban on the use of social media for children under the age of 16, aimed at preventing its adverse effects on them. “With the objective of preventing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16,” Siddaramaiah said while presenting the state Budget for 2026-27 Karnataka CM announces measure, Andhra mulling it. Indonesia may follow suit here. Later, addressing a press conference here, he said children below 16 years can keep a mobile phone but cannot use social media. “We will ban social media for them,” he said. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | world 2 pilots killed in Sukhoi crash in Assam PTI NEW DELHI/NAGPUR/GUWAHATI Two Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots were killed after a Su30MKI fighter jet crashed in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, the IAF confirmed on Friday. The pilots were identified as Squadron Leader Anuj (Left) and Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar. The aircraft had gone missing during a training sortie on Thursday after taking off from the Jorhat airbase. Communication with the aircraft was lost at 7.42 pm, officials said. At around 1 am on Friday, IAF confirmed Su30MKI, which had disappeared from radar, had crashed. The jet crashed at Chokihola in Bokajan sub-division of Karbi Anglong district, about 60 km from Jorhat airbase. A defence spokesperson said debris of the aircraft was located early Friday and search and rescue operations led by an IAF team were continuing in the remote area. In Nagpur, the family of Flight Lieutenant Duragkar recalled their last conversation PTI NEW DELHI Dhairya Gajara COLOMBO Iran slams hit on ‘unarmed’ vessel with him. His father, Ravindra Duragkar, a retired railway employee, said they had spoken on Wednesday and Purvesh had visited home about ten days ago for a family gathering. “We had spoken on Wednesday. His Group Captain got in touch with us and informed us about the accident,” he said. Duragkar, 28, had taken part in Operation Sindoor, launched by India to target terror bases in Pakistan following last year’s Pahalgam attack, his father said. Originally posted in Tezpur, he had been operating from Jorhat as work was being carried out on the Tezpur runway. The Su-30MKI is a two-seat, multirole long-range fighter jet developed by Russia’s Sukhoi and built under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Two days after a US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka's coast, Iran on Friday warned that the attack on an "unarmed ship cannot go with impunity." Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh, who is visiting India, emphasised that the IRIS Dena was in a non-combat configuration and returning from the Milan naval exercise, and that the US action against it was a serious violation of international law. "This is a very sad, very unfortunate incident. That vessel was by invitation of our Indian friends, attending an international exercise. It was ceremonial. It was unloaded. It was unarmed," he said. "It is very unfortunate. Many of the young Iranian sailors who were attending these exercises lost their lives. It cannot go with impunity for those who actually did that," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue. IRIS Dena was part of the Indian Navy's premier multilateral maritime exercise Milan. The warship had also featured in the International Fleet Review in Vishakapat- Maha debt up, crosses ₹11L cr Ravikiran Deshmukh MUMBAI Despite an upward trend in economic growth and per capita income, Maharashtra’s rising debt burden continues to raise concern. According to the budget estimates presented on Friday, the state’s total debt is projected to cross ₹11,02,654 crore in 2026–27. At the end of the 2025–26 financial year, the state’s loan burden is estimated at ₹9,73,989 crore, accounting for 19.09% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). The projected debt of over ₹11 lakh crore for the next financial year will rise to 20.38% of the GSDP. The annual borrowing requirement has also increased. During 2025–26, it was initially estimated that the government would raise ₹1.35 lakh crore through loans, but the revised estimate now stands at ₹1.51 lakh crore by March 31, according to budget documents. For the next financial year, the budget projects borrowings of ₹1.50 lakh crore. Asked about the rising debt after presenting the budget, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that although the overall debt burden would cross ₹11 lakh crore, the Centre would share ₹89,000 crore. He added that the state raises Debt estimate Annual borrowing `1,50,000 cr FPJ News Service MUMBAI only covers oil cargoes already stranded at sea. The move is also being interpreted by analysts as a sign that Washington may have miscal- that timeframe while allowing key partners to manage immediate supply disruptions. Energy analysts cited by Reuters and Bloomberg said the measure also gives New Delhi breathing room as fears grow that prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a sharp spike in global energy prices. Reports by The Guardian and Reuters said the waiver came after India approached the administration of US President Donald Trump seeking `1,51,000 cr Trump rules out ground forces The move is also being interpreted by analysts as a sign that Washington may have miscalculated the duration of the Iran conflict `11,02,654 cr The United States has issued a temporary 30-day waiver allowing India to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea as the conflict involving Iran disrupts global crude shipments and threatens supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. The US Treasury Department announced the measure on Thursday, describing it as a short-term step to keep oil flowing into the global market and prevent further price increases. “To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “This stopgap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage.” Bessent said the waiver would not significantly benefit Russia because it The Centre has invoked emergency powers under the Essential Commodities Act (ESMA) to direct oil refineries to ramp up production of LPG to ensure an uninterrupted domestic cooking gas supply amid disruptions linked to the widening West Asia conflict. The move comes as the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for global energy shipments, has been effectively blocked following a week-long escalation after US and Israeli strikes on Iran, triggering retaliatory measures. India consumed 31.3 million tonnes of LPG in 2024-25, of which only 12.8 million tonnes were produced domestically, while the rest was imported. About 85-90% of these imports come from countries such as Saudi Arabia that depend on the Strait of Hormuz for transit. While India has surplus oil refining capacity, domestic LPG production remains limited. In an order dated March 5, the Oil Ministry directed all public and private sector refiners to “maximise and ensure that propane and butane streams produced… are utilised for production of LPG.” CONTD NATION `9,73,989 cr Agencies WASHINGTON ESMA in play as govt ups LPG production 2025– 2026– 2025– 2026– 2026 2027 2026 2027 loans according to its financial capacity and that the annual borrowing limit is determined by the Reserve Bank of India. “We never raise debt beyond the prescribed limit,” he said. Experts say governments are often forced to borrow more when revenue expenditure rises and remains difficult to contain. Maharashtra’s revenue deficit in the current financial year is estimated at ₹37,054 crore and is projected to increase to around ₹40,000 crore in 2026–27. A revenue deficit indicates that the government is unable to meet routine operational expenses through its own income and must rely on borrowings. 4Contd on | city 4See also | city Iran ship in Kochi India has permitted Iranian vessel IRIS Lavan to dock at Kochi after it developed technical issues, government sources said on Friday. PTI reports request for help was received from Iran on Feb 28 and emergency docking clearance was given on March 1. The ship was in the region for activities linked to International Fleet Review. Its crew of 183 have been provided accommodation. nam last month. Khatibzadeh, blasting the US over the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said "cherry-picking" of international law cannot be acceptable. 4Contd on | nation 3 Australians on board US submarine that sank Iran frigate FPJ News Service MUMBAI Australian PM Anthony Albanese has confirmed three Australian defence personnel were onboard a US submarine that sank an Iranian warship, but insisted no Australian forces took part in the attack. The admission came after the Australian government initially declined to comment on reports that Australian sailors may have been present during the strike. Speaking to Sky News Australia on Friday, Albanese said the personnel were part of a training arrangement under the AUKUS defence partnership. “We wouldn’t normally confirm such matters, but given the public interest I can confirm that three Australian personnel were onboard that vessel,” Albanese said. “I can also confirm that no Australian personnel participated in any offensive action against Iran.” The submarine sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, killing at least 87 sailors. Albanese said Australian personnel were embedded with US forces under longstanding arrangements that allow defence personnel to train with allied militaries while remaining bound by Australian law.