18082026-TTC-01.qxd 8/18/2026 12:40 AM Page 1 13 ‘BOLD FIRST STEP’: TRUMP HAILS MECCA PACT WORLD /thetribunechd SHUTTLER AYUSH STUNS WORLD NO 1 SHI SPORT CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 227 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 tuesday | 18 august 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Manpreet, Smriti, Raje, Madhav GMADA to pay Gujarat firm get key positions in Team Nabin ~191 cr for raising ~15,000 cr BJP names minister Goyal as treasurer, drops IT cell head Amit Malviya Aditi Tandon 18 MPs, 10 WOMEN IN REJIGGED BJP Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 17 The BJP on Monday unveiled a new team of office-bearers, inducting fresh talent while retaining experienced leaders and ensuring representation in the organisation to cadres from across geographical regions and social groups. Party national president Nitin Nabin expanded the top rung organisational bracket from the current 29 to 38 officebearers, giving 10 positions — 26.31 per cent — to women as against 24.13 per cent (seven of 29) in the outgoing team. The BJP will now have 13 vicepresidents (six of them women), nine general secretaries (one woman) and 16 national continued on page 9 Former AAP strategist Pathak tapped ahead of Punjab election Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service Manpreet Singh Badal NATIONAL VP Smriti Irani NATIONAL GEN SECY Vasundhara Raje NATIONAL VP Sanjay Bhatia NATIONAL GEN SECY Ram Madhav NATIONAL VP Satish Poonia NATIONAL GEN SECY New Delhi, August 17 Four months after he and other former Aam Aadmi Party MPs joined the BJP , Sandeep Pathak today found a place in the new team of BJP national president Nitin Nabin. Pathak has been named one of the 16 BJP national secretaries and is the only leader among recent defectors to be assigned a key organisational role in the party. Sources say continued on page 8 THE TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE Ruchika M Khanna & Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 17 The once cash-rich Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has hired a Gujarat-based merchant banker to raise Rs 15,000 crore, which will be used not only for acquiring 5,000 acres of land but also depositing the funds thus raised with the Department of Finance. Once the money is raised, the merchant banker, Tipsons Consultancy Services Private Limited, will be paid an arranger fee of Rs 191.16 crore, an amount that is unprecedented in Punjab’s history. The money will be raised through bonds and bank loans, depending on whichever option is the 5,000 ACRES & UNPRECEDENTED ARRANGER FEE ■ GMADA to acquire land in ■ Of this, ~6,241.82 cr has been Aerotropolis project, Eco City 3 and Sectors 87, 101, 103 ■ Additional ~15,000-cr liability could mean annual interest burden of around ~1,200 cr ■ GMADA has already raised term loans & overdraft limit of ~7,653.23 cr from banks utilised at a weighted average interest rate of 7.14% ■ GMADA will pay unprecedented arranger fee of ~191.16 cr to Tipsons Consultancy SCreliefforRahulas HC hearing stayed in assets case NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Allahabad High Court to defer proceedings on a BJP worker’s petition accusing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The court also ordered the CBI, ED or any other agency not to submit any report to the HC on the petition. — TNS Two more AI pilots fail drug test after Phuket flight fiasco cheapest. The proposal was approved following discussions at the development authority’s executive committee meeting held here this afternoon under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Secretary and GMADA Chairperson KAP Sinha. continued on page 8 NEW DELHI: Two more Air India pilots have tested “non-negative” in preliminary drug screening, widening scrutiny of the airline’s cockpit crew after the Phuket-Delhi flight incident in which its pilot-incommand tested positive for drugs. The two pilots have been de-rostered. BACK PAGE Cash-strapped Himachal to approach Jharkhand scraps exams PMsettoattendUSG20Summit in Dec Centre for trimming IAS, IPS, IFS cadre conducted by pvt agency THE TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, August 17 To cut down its hefty expenditure on the bureaucracy, the cash-strapped Himachal Pradesh Government is planning to approach the Centre for a reduction in the sanctioned strength of IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers in the state. Though successive govern- CUTTING EXTRA COST CADRE APPROVED BEING SOUGHT IAS IFS IPS 153 118 96 130 83 Not specified ments have in the past flagged the “unnecessary burden” of the oversized bureaucracy on the exchequer, Chief Minister Sukhvin- der Singh Sukhu today said Himachal would formally move a proposal to the Centre for trimming the strength of all three All India Services. He said maintaining the large cadre cost the state about Rs 200 crore annually. “Himachal will seek a reduction of 23 IAS posts, bringing the sanctioned strength down from 153 to 130. Though I firmly continued on page 8 Manikant Mishra Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 17 After 24 days of student protests over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations in Ranchi, the Jharkhand Government on Monday night announced the cancellation of all examinations and recruitment process conducted by private agency TDPL. Chief Minister Hemant c m y b Ujwal Jalali Protesters push for CBI inquiry Soren took the decision after a prolonged meeting with protesting students, saying the government had decided to scrap “everything” linked to TDPL after considering all aspects of the controversy. The decision covers examinations continued on page 8 Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 17 Amid strains in the India-US relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to Miami in December to participate in the G20 Summit, with a government document revealing that preparations for his proposed visit are under way. The document, accessed by Narendra Modi The Tribune, specifically refers to the proposed “visit of the Prime Minister” and the “accompanying official delegation” and lays down arrangements for their transportation during the trip, suggesting that logistical planning for Modi’s participation has already begun. The proposed visit would come amid a difficult phase in the India-US relations, with trade and tariffs, India’s continued purchase of Russian oil and Washington’s growing engagement with Pakistan emerging as key irritants. The US has been pressing India continued on page 8
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).
