29102025-TTC-01.qxd 10/29/2025 12:39 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 298 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 US, JAPAN SIGN RARE EARTHS, NUCLEAR POWER DEAL WORLD /thetribunechd BILL FOR OWNERSHIP RIGHTS ON STATE LAND REJECTED J&K YELLOW METAL DROPS PREZ MURMU TO TAKE FURTHER BY ~4.1K TO RAFALE SORTIE IN AMBALA ~1,21,800 BUSINESS TODAY BACK PAGE wednesday | 29 october 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Mahagathbandhan promises govt jobs, free power, OPS; woos EBCs in manifesto Tejashwi says NDA has no vision for state| Warns election staff against bias during polling India inks pact with Russian firm to produce civil aircraft Signals strong ties with Moscow despite western pressure Ajay Banerjee Dipak Mishra Tribune News Service T New Delhi, October 28 In an apparent geopolitical message, India has inked a historic deal with Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) to manufacture the SJ100 passenger aircraft. Notably, the company is currently under US and EU sanctions. The plane will be produced in India for the domestic aviation market. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was on Tuesday signed in Moscow between the UAC and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a Defence Ministryowned enterprise. India’s decision to partner with a sanctioned entity introduces geopolitical complexities. New Delhi has traditionally maintained strong defence and aerospace ties with Moscow, including licensed production of Su-30MKI fighter jets and T-90 tanks. The move signals that India intends to continue its cooperation with Russia despite sanctions imposed by the US, UK and EU. India does not officially recognise unilateral sanctions imposed on any country. continued on page 8 HE Mahagathbandhan released its election manifesto — Bihar ka Tejashwi Pran — in Patna on Tuesday, promising, among other things, government jobs, free power and the old pension scheme. “We were the first to release the name of our CM face. Today, we are the first to release our manifesto for the Bihar Assembly elections,” said Tejashwi while addressing a joint press conference with leaders of the alliance. Most of the promises made in the manifesto have already been announced by Tejashwi at public meetings. Tejashwi alleged that PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and other NDA leaders had no vision for Bihar. The RJD warned poll officials against any bias in the conduct of the elections. The focus of the election manifesto is on government jobs and women. It has promised that one member of every family will have a government job within 20 months of the formation of the new government. Besides, Jeevika workers will be made government continued on page 8 Cabinetnodto8th paypanel’sterms New Delhi, October 28 The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the terms of reference of the 8th Pay Commission, which will revise the salary of nearly 50 lakh central government employees and benefit 69 lakh pensioners. The recommendations of the commission, which will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, are likely to come into effect from January 1, 2026, Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters. IIM-Bangalore Professor Pulak Ghosh will be the part-time member and continued on page 8 RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav (centre), along with alliance leaders, releases the Mahagathbandhan manifesto in Patna on Tuesday. ANI EC notice to Kishor over voter IDs in 2 states Patna/Kolkata, October 28 Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor was on Tuesday served a notice over his name being reportedly registered as a voter in his home state Bihar as well as adjoining West Bengal. However, Kishor stuck to his guns, asserting that the onus BATTLING CAPITAL HAZE ■ Delhi conducted cloud-seeding trials in a bid to induce artificial rain amid surging pollution levels on Tuesday. The trials in collaboration with IIT-Kanpur were undertaken in outer areas. ■ A Cessna aircraft took off from Kanpur and released was on the EC, which “claims to have purified electoral rolls in Bihar through SIR”, to have done the needful in his case. The notice has been issued by the district election office in Rohtas district of Bihar, where Kishor has been registered as a voter in the Kargahar Assembly segment. He has been asked to respond within three days. According to official records, Kishor is enrolled as a voter in West Bengal at 121, Kalighat Road, the address of BIHAR BATTLE the Trinamool Congress headquarters in Kolkata’s Bhabanipur Assembly constituency, which is Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee’s seat, an election official in West Bengal said. The notice has cited a report published in a leading English continued on page 8 HAL’s Prabhat Ranjan and United Aircraft Corporation’s Oleg Bogomolov sign a deal for the production of SJ-100, in Moscow on Tuesday. ANI IOC to keep buying Russian oil from unsanctioned firms Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 28 State-run refinery Indian Oil Corporation will not stop buying Russian oil as long as it complies with the latest US sanctions. Other Indian refineries may well follow the same plan, considering the fact that the recent sanctions target specific Russian firms Rosneft and Lukoil, not the oil itself. Speaking at an IOC postearnings analyst call today, IOC Director (Finance) Anuj Jain explained the position, Tara acquitted in 16-yr-old UAPA, Arms Act case for want of evidence 8 salt-based & silver iodide flares. The first trial lasted half an hour, while the second was completed in an hour. ■ Two precipitation events were recorded at Noida (0.1 mm rain) & Greater Noida (0.2 mm), an official report later said, adding trials helped reduce particulate matter even as conditions weren’t ideal. Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 28 The court of Additional Sessions Judge Rajeev K Beri has acquitted Jagtar Singh Tara in a 16-year-old case lodged against him at Bhogpur near here under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Arms Act. Since Tara is facing life imprisonment till death in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, he will continue to remain in jail. He is lodged at Burail Jail in Chandigarh. A plane takes off from Kanpur for cloud-seeding trials in Delhi; & (inset) fires flares over the national capital. PTI Already facing life term in Beant case, will stay in jail Jagtar Singh Tara On Tuesday, the Jalandhar court termed Tara’s case a “case of no evidence”. The 17-page judgment states that the prosecution even failed to establish that he was a member of the Babbar Khalsa International. “It was not even proven that this outfit was a terrorist organisation or that the accused was its member. It was also not proven that Tara had conspired with the other accused to commit any terrorist act or that he had collected funds for the purpose. No incriminating material was recovered from the accused despite his arrest,” reads the order. The court stated that continued on page 8 Punjabi bizman shot Pb okays stilt-plus-4 floors in new urban areas outsideCanadahome Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Cops link murder to Ludhiana, October 28 ransom demands A Punjabi businessman with roots in Rajgarh, a village near mation, he had been receiving Doraha, was shot dead in front ransom calls in the past, which of his house in the Ridgeview he reportedly ignored. He was Drive area of Abbotsford, Sur- frequently seen as a prominent rey, on Monday. figure at community events. A leading businessman in Meanwhile, Doraha SHO the cloth recycling industry, Akash Datt said, “We have the victim has been identified received information about as 68-year-old DarDarshan Sahsi’s shan Singh Sahsi. unfortunate demise. He was about to get His relatives are curinto his car to leave rently at Rajgarh vilfor his office in lage, Doraha. We are Maple Ridge when awaiting clarity on the assailants whether they plan to opened fire at him. bring the body back Suspecting the Darshan Singh Sahsi to their native place. murder to be linked We will take action to ransom demands, the police and proceed with an investigahave begun an investigation. It tion as per their instructions is learnt that Darshan Singh and government guidance.” had moved to Canada many Darshan Sahsi’s brother years ago and established a suc- Joshi and his nephew are cessful cloth recycling business, planning to travel to Canada employing dozens of workers at to pay their last respects and his Maple Ridge factory. attend his funeral. Rajgarh Sources described Darshan village sarpanch Jagtar Singh as a Good Samaritan Singh, along with the entire who often donated to the community, expressed deep needy. As per available infor- sorrow over Sahsi’s demise. Chandigarh, October 28 In an effort to unlock the value of land, the Punjab Government has approved a policy allowing stilt-plus-four floors in all new residential areas coming up in urban areas. The move will pave the way for the government to implement the Apartment Act in the state, which will allow people to buy separate floors in houses, as subdivision of land is currently not permitted. Anyone owning a minimum plot size of 250 sq yds can now construct stilt-plusfour floors, following the Punjab Cabinet’s approval of the Punjab Unified Building Rules, 2025. The scheme is applicable only where plots are located along roads with a minimum width of 40 ft. Initially, the government planned to allow the scheme in all urban areas. However, after receiving feedback from stakeholders, it was decided to restrict the provi- Major realty push likely in Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar HIGHER COVERAGE UNDER NEW RULES ■ An additional 10% increase ■ Those opting for it will have to in floor area ratio (FAR) has been allowed for all plot sizes pay a fee of 5% of the collector rate for every 0.25% hike sion to newly constructed licensed colonies and sectors in urban estates to avoid overburdening the existing civic infrastructure. The decision is expected to significantly impact housing in cities like Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar. In old and existing urban areas, owners can construct stilt-plus-three floors, with the maximum permissible building height revised from 11 metres to 13 metres, Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian told The Tribune. Under the new rules, similar to those adopted by neighbouring Haryana, the permissible height for the stilt-plusfour floors scheme in new settlements has been increased from 15 metres to 21 metres. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the move aimed at easing the housing pressure in major cities. “We have also given a go-ahead for deemed approval of building plans for all new residential continued on page 8 Govt mulls ways to enhance US crude purchase saying the company would “absolutely not” stop buying Russian crude. “We are absolutely not going to discontinue (buying Russian crude) as long as we are complying with sanctions. Russian crude is not sanctioned. It is the entities and the shipping lines that face sanctions,” he said. “If somebody comes to me with a non-sanctioned entity, the continued on page 8 Indian man stabs 2 teens on US flight NEW YORK: A 28-year-old Indian national allegedly stabbed two teens with a metal fork and slapped a co-passenger on board a Chicago to Germany flight, according to American authorities. The incident occurred on Saturday on a Lufthansa flight that had to be diverted to Boston, where the accused was arrested. — PTI WB woman alleges assault at nightclub KOLKATA: A woman has accused a group of men of molestation and assault at a nightclub inside a five-star hotel here. A businessman, who served a prison term in the Park Street gangrape case of 2011, and his nephew had been named among the accused, the police said. — PTI Amazontocutnearly 14K corporate jobs SEATTLE: Amazon will cut about 14,000 corporate jobs as the online retail giant ramps up spending on artificial intelligence while trimming spending across multiple divisions. In June, CEO Andy Jassy had said he anticipated AI would reduce Amazon’s corporate workforce in the next few years. BUSINESS Green tribunal caps tourist, horse count in Kufri to protect its ecology Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, October 28 In a major step towards reviving Kufri’s ailing ecology, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed strict daily limits on tourist and horse activity along the Kufri-Mahasu trail in Shimla district. The order, delivered on October 14 by Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel, allows only 293 horses and 2,232 tourists per day, based on the Cifuentes ONLY 293 HORSES ALLOWED ON MAHASU TRAIL PER DAY ■ The hill station near Shimla, once a skiing paradise, faces strict environmental regulation to restore its fading natural charm ■ The order allows only 293 horses and 2,232 tourists per day, based on the Cifuentes ecological methodology for carrying capacity ecological methodology for carrying capacity. The decision follows growing concern over the degradation of the Kufri reserved forest, once celebrated for its pristine ski slopes and iconic presence in old Bollywood films. Over the years, unreg- ulated horse rides, unscientific management and unchecked tourist inflow have turned the once-scenic hill station into an environmental hotspot. Mounds of horse dung littered the trails, with no system in place for safe disposal. The tribunal’s c m y b order came in response to a complaint filed by Shailendra Kumar Yadav, highlighting severe ecological harm from excessive horse movement. The complaint pointed out that 700-800 horses were operating within a small 8-10 sq km area, encroaching upon the reserved forest and catchment zones. The unchecked activity, it was alleged, damaged forest trails, tree roots and vegetation, causing deforestation, continued on page 8 Nearly 700 horses are currently present in a small 8-10 sq km area.