02102025-TTC-01.qxd 10/2/2025 1:15 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 9 NO. 272 | 18 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 AMBANI PIPS ADANI TO RECLAIM SPOT AS RICHEST INDIAN BUSINESS /thetribunechd 10% RISE IN SUICIDES LINKED TO ILLNESSES: NCRB DATA NATION 6.9-MAGNITUDE QUAKE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT HITS PHILIPPINES; 69 LIKELY TO VISIT INDIA ON DEAD, 200 HURT WORLD DEC 5-6 BACK PAGE thursday | 2 october 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Days after violence, govt reaches out to Leh outfit for talks THE TRIBUNE IN LEH Adil Akhzer T HE Centre is learnt to have reached out to a senior leader of the Leh Apex Body (LAB), a day after two Ladakh outfits jointly announced suspension of talks in the wake of death of four protesters in firing by security personnel and detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk. The outreach came as a local court in Leh granted interim bail to 26 of the around 50 persons arrested in connection with last week’s violence. Sources said Central government officials contacted LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjay, who confirmed the development to The Tribune. Members of the apex body said Dorjay had conveyed that talks could resume only if the demands jointly raised by the LAB and KDA were met. “Dialogue can begin once the demands announced by Ladakh leaders are fulfilled,” an apex body member said. Members of the LAB along LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjay claims to have got call from govt. WANGCHUK’S WIFE WRITES TO PREZ FOR HIS RELEASE Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J Angmo on Wednesday reached out to President Droupadi Murmu to seek her intervention for the release of the climate activist. In a three-page letter addressed to the President, Wangchuk’s wife alleged ‘witch-hunt’ against her husband. with the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which have been leading the agitation for Ladakh’s statehood and the Sixth Schedule status, announced the suspension of talks with the Centre. They put forward several new demands, including a judicial probe into the violence and the release of those detained after the clashes. continued on page 10 Centre hikes wheat MSP by ~160 to ~2,585/qntl Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 1 The Union Cabinet on Wednesday announced a 6.59 per cent increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat to Rs 2,585 per quintal for the 2026-27 marketing year, up Rs 160 per quintal from Rs 2,425 per quintal last year. Among other Rabi crops, the highest absolute increase was announced for safflower at Rs 600 per quintal, followed by lentil (masur) at Rs 300 per quintal. For rapeseed and mustard, gram and barley, the increases are Rs 250, Rs 225 and Rs 170 per quintal, respectively. Following the Cabinet meeting, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “The MSP hike will channel a total of Rs 84,263 crore to farmers. The estimated procurement for the 2026-27 rabi season is expected to be 297 lakh metric tonnes.” Official sources said the MSP increase was in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement to fix MSP at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production. The expected margin over the cost of production is 109 per cent for wheat, 93 per ~84,000-CR boost to farmers with highest increase of ~600/qt for safflower, followed by lentil 100% PROCUREMENT The Centre has assured 100% procurement of tur, urad and masoor on MSP. Will help 2 crore farmers. ❝ Ashwini Vaishnaw, UNION MINISTER cent for rapeseed & mustard, 89 per cent for lentil, 59 per cent for gram, 58 per cent for barley and 50 per cent for safflower. This increased MSP will ensure remunerative prices for farmers and incentivise crop diversification. In a NOD TO OPEN 57 NEW KVs ■ The Cabinet okayed opening of 57 new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs), which will benefit over 86,000 students ■ Twenty of these will be opened in districts where no KV currently exists despite a significant number of Central staff ■ The estimated grant for the new KVs is ~5,862.55 crore spread over a period of nine years from 2026-27 ~11,440-CR BOOST TO CULTIVATE PULSES ■ The Cabinet has approved a 6-year scheme aimed at achieving selfsufficiency in production of pulses, with an outlay of ~11,440 crore ■ The govt has set a target to increase the production to 350 lakh tonnes by 2030-32 from 242 LT in 2023-24 related decision, the Cabinet approved a mission to achieve self-reliance in pulses production, aimed at boosting domestic output. Vaishnaw announced the mission would be implemented over six continued on page 10 Festive cheer for staff, govt okays 3% DA hike ~10,083-cr payout, 1.18 cr to benefit Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 1 In a pre-Diwali bonanza for Central government employees and pensioners, the Cabinet on Wednesday approved a 3 per cent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR), envisaging an annual outlay of Rs 10,083.96 crore. This will benefit about 49.19 lakh Central government employees and 68.72 lakh pensioners. The hike, effective from July 1, was announced by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after the Cabinet meeting. The increase is in accordance with the accepted formula based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission. The hike in DA and DR comes days after the rationalisation of GST rates, which reduced prices of mass-consumption items such as ghee, paneer, butter, namkeen, ketchup, jam, dry fruits and coffee, as well as aspirational goods like TVs, ACs, and washing machines. This is the second increase this year. In CLEARANCE TO ELEVATED ASSAM GREEN CORRIDOR The Union Cabinet approved the construction of an elevated corridor in order to aid the movement of wildlife from Kaziranga National Park in Assam and cleared widening of the Kalibor-Numaligarh section of NH-715 and improvement of the existing carriageway to four-lane. March, a 2 per cent hike had raised DA payouts from 53 per cent of basic pay to 55 per cent, following a 3 per cent revision in October last year. With Wednesday’s raise, DA has now reached 58 per cent. DA is paid to government employees to offset inflation. The latest revision reflects the movement of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for industrial workers, which forms the basis for the biannual DA adjustments. Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday hailed the Union Cabinet’s decision to increase the DA and DR by 3 per cent, saying it is a gift from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Central government employees and their family members on the eve of Vijayadashami. US govt plunges into shutdown over funding Bill New Delhi, October 1 The United States government plunged into a shutdown at midnight Tuesday following a bitter standoff in Congress that blocked the passage of a funding Bill, forcing hundreds of thousands of federal employees off work and halting large parts of government operations. The impasse arose after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on a stopgap spending measure. The deadlock left federal agencies without legal authority to operate, triggering the country’s first shutdown in over six years. According to estimates, nearly 7,50,000 government employees will be furloughed, while many others deemed essential will be required to work without pay until a deal is reached. INSIDE RBIkeepsreporate unchangedat5.5%, raisesGDPforecast GE gives 4th engine, was to deliver 30 by now NEW DELHI: The Ajay Banerjee RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee on Wednesday decided to keep policy repo rate unchanged at 5.5 per cent following a detailed assessment of the evolving macroeconomic and financial developments. The central bank also maintained its “neutral” stance. The RBI also revised its GDP growth forecast for FY2026 to 6.8 per cent, up from 6.5 per cent, reflecting increased confidence in the economy’s momentum. INSIDE Khargeundergoes pacemakersurgery at B’luru hospital NEW DELHI: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday underwent a procedure to have a pacemaker implanted, his son and Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge said on Wednesday. The 83-year-old leader was admitted to the city’s MS Ramaiah Hospital on Tuesday, sources said. Priyank said his father’s condition is stable and he is doing well. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited Kharge at the hospital and inquired about his health. INSIDE Sanjay Gupta gets addl charge of HP Chief Secretary SHIMLA: Sanjay Gupta, a 1988- batch IAS officer, was on Wednesday given the additional charge of the post of Chief Secretary of Himachal Pradesh. Gupta is currently serving as Additional Chief Secretary for Town and Country Planning and Housing. Gupta is the senior-most bureaucrat in the state but is due to retire next year. The additional charge of Chief Secretary is learnt to have come as a surprise for him. INSIDE HAL inked key component deal with US firm in 2023 for 99 Tejas jets of Defence (MoD) signed a Rs 48,000-crore contract with HAL in January 2021 for 83 Tejas Mark 1-A planes. The deliveries were to start in March 2024 while the F404 engines should have started coming in at least a year in advance, said officials. HAL had inked a $716-million contract with GE for 99 F404 engines. The supplies were to start in April 2023 at the rate of 16 engines a year. After the delays, GE has promised to deliver 12 engines this year and 20 per year thereafter. Despite the delays, the MoD last week signed a Rs 62,370crore contract with HAL for procurement of an additional 97 Tejas Mark-1A jets. The MoD holds a majority stake in HAL, which is a listed company. The Air Force currently has 31 squadrons (each having up to 18 planes) of fighter jets continued on page 10 Highest overdose deaths in Punjab, has more peddlers than users: NCRB A first since tariffs: PM Modi & Trump maymeetatASEAN drug use stood at 12.4 per lakh, showing a clear tilt towards trafficking rather than consumption. The state also witnessed the highest number of drug overdose deaths in India for the second year in a row, with 89 fatalities, though this was a decline from 144 deaths the previous year. Madhya Pradesh was second with 85 deaths and Rajasthan with 84 deaths in the same year. The national total for drug over- New Delhi, October 1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump are likely to hold talks on the margins of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 26-27. This could be their first face-to-face interaction since Washington imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods earlier this year. Modi is scheduled to attend the summit while Malaysia has also extended an invitation to Trump. If the US President confirms his participation, the ASEAN meet could serve as the first multilateral forum where the two leaders cross paths after the US decision to slap 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports. Though neither New Delhi nor Washington has officially confirmed a bilateral meeting, officials indicated that the summit may provide an opportunity for the leaders to address ongoing trade frictions, regional security concerns and wider strategic cooperation. — TNS Tribune News Service PM Narendra Modi, RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale (centre) and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (left) release a commemorative coin to mark the centenary year of the RSS in New Delhi. PHOTO: PMO Demographic change, infiltration posing challenge to unity, says PM Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday identified demographic manipulation, infiltration and import dependence as top national challenges, calling selfreliance a necessity and “swadeshi” a way of life. Citing separatist ideologies, regionalism, disputes over caste and language and divisive tendencies incited by external forces as threats to national unity, the PM said India’s soul had always been rooted in “unity in diversity” and warned against dilution of this foundational value. “If this principle of unity in diversity is broken, India’s strength will be diminished. We must continuously reinforce it,” he said, hailing the journey of the BJP’s ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which turned 100 today. In the presence of RSS second-in-command Dattatreya Hosabale, the PM released a postal stamp and a Rs 100 coin to commemorate the centenary of the RSS, which will enter its 101st year on Vijayadashmi tomorrow. From the ruling party’s perspective, these commemorations made a strong political point by highlighting the RSS’ contributions to the freedom movement and post-Independence wars, a move that drew criticism from the opposition Left and the Congress. The CPM termed the release of the stamp and coin an “insult to the Constitution”. In contrast, the PM lauded the RSS’ journey as one dedicated to “nation building”, saying the Sangh and its leaders, despite enduring bans and false cases, never harboured rancour. “This was possible because of the RSS workers’ deep commitment to democratic values and the Constitution and their sense of oneness with society,” Modi said even as Congress general secretary continued on page 10 New Delhi, October 1 US engine manufacturer General Electric on Wednesday announced the delivery of its fourth engine for the Indian Air Force’s under-production Tejas Mark 1-A jets even though the company, as per its contractual commitment, should have by now supplied around 30 engines. The IAF which retired its , decades’ old MiG-21 jets on September 26, has been facing a critical shortage of fighter aircraft. The Tejas Mark 1-A jets are being manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the public enter- Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 1 More Punjabis were found to be trafficking narcotics than consuming them, according to the latest countrywide analytical report of 2023 released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Punjab topped the country with the highest proportion of drug smuggling cases — 25.3 cases per lakh population. In contrast, cases of GE had promised to deliver 16 F404 engines per year. prise is learnt to have readied around a dozen aircraft at its facility. The deliveries to the IAF however, are stuck due , to the non-supply of GE’s F404 engines. The Ministry dose deaths in 2023 was 654. In a striking revelation, neighbouring Himachal Pradesh emerged as the second-highest state in the country for drug-smuggling ratios. The hill state recorded only 2,146 cases under the NDPS Act in 2023, not even among the top 10 states in overall numbers. Yet the break-up revealed 547 cases for consumption and 1,599 for trafficking — a ratio of continued on page 10 edit: ncrb report ‘Dead man walking’ fights to prove he’s alive amid ~1.43-cr insurance fraud Anirudh Gupta Ferozepur, October 1 In an unprecedented series of events with all the ingredients of a Bollywood potboiler, 19year-old Vishal of Nava Purba village received the shock of his life when he discovered his own death certificate, issued by the Chief Registrar of Births & Deaths, Punjab. The shock deepened when he also got a report from a religious organisation in Tarn Taran certifying the immersion of his ashes, along with an affidavit from a woman claiming to be his wife, declaring him deceased. Since then, Vishal has been moving from pillar to post to prove that he is alive. He has filed a police complaint, sub- ‘Fake wife’ forges death certificate, gets ashes immersion report too mitted copies of the forged death certificate, the imposter wife’s affidavit and a false insurance claim made in his name, leaving him feeling like a “dead man walking”. The matter first came to light when an insurance agent contacted the sarpanch of Vishal’s previous village, Kot Karor Kalan in Moga district, to verify an insurance claim. The sarpanch then asked Vishal’s uncle about his death, who in turn informed Vishal. Disturbed by this, Vishal discovered that an c m y b imposter, posing as his wife, had declared him dead and submitted documents for an insurance claim, citing heart failure as the cause. “I used to live in Kot Karor Kalan, but for the last six months, I’ve been staying at Nava Purba village,” said Vishal, adding that a woman from his neighbourhood had promised to help him secure a loan at attractive interest rates from a private bank. According to him, he provided all his documents and even accompanied her to a bank in the city for KYC verification. However, the loan never materialised, he said. “When the sarpanch called my uncle, I learnt about the fraud,” Vishal said. continued on page 10