21052026-TTB-01.qxd 5/21/2026 12:26 AM Page 1 c m y b 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 139 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  DELHI NAME HALWARA AIRPORT AFTER KARTAR SARABHA, SAYS MANN PUNJAB /thetribunechd ~ FALLS TO ALL-TIME LOW OF 96.90 AGAINST US DOLLAR BUSINESS INDIA INKS DEFENCE AGREEMENTS WITH S KOREA BACK PAGE WANGCHUK AMONG LADAKH LEADERS INVITED FOR TALKS IN DELHI J&K thursday | 21 may 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com India, Italy elevate relations to special strategic partnership, eye €20-bn biz Kin ‘beneficiaries’ top , Punjab officers in land policy face NGT heat Modi, Meloni discuss Ukraine, West Asia conflicts, stress need for freedom of navigation Chief Secy, Principal Secy get notices India facing fiscal storm, PM gifting toffees: Rahul Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 20 India and Italy on Wednesday announced to elevate their bilateral relationship to a “special strategic partnership” and committed to increase their annual bilateral trade to 20 billion euros by 2029. The decisions were announced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni met in Rome. The two sides announced 15 outcomes, including an India-Italy defence industrial roadmap for cooperation in defence manufacturing and critical minerals. Another pact facilitates the mobility of Indian nurses to Italy, while India’s export of marine products will be promoted in Italy. The India-Italy bilateral trade stood at 14.25 billion euros in 2025. India’s exports were at 8.55 billion euros, while India imported 5.70 billion euros worth of goods from Italy. Modi said the India-Italy defence industrial roadmap had opened new avenues for gross economic mismanageTribune News Service ment. He said when farmers, New Delhi, May 20 labourers and traders in the Leader of Opposition in the country were in tears due to Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on economic distress, the Prime Wednesday launched a Minister was laughing and scathing attack on making reels Prime Minister while the BJP Narendra Modi, leaders were clapaccusing him of ping along. focusing on pubCongress presilicity while the dent Mallikarjun country faced an Kharge said peoeconomic storm ple were being due to rising made to listen to prices and unemthe “melody” of ployment. speeches while Referring to the PM Modi gifts Melody suffering the “misviral video of Modi toffees to PM Meloni. ery” of the governgifting candies to ment’s policies. his Italian counterpart, Kharge alleged that durRahul said: “An economic ing the BJP-led governstorm is raging over our ment’s 11 years in power, heads, and our Prime Minis- the average debt burden on ter is busy handing out can- Indians had increased dies in Italy! This isn’t lead- sharply while the wealth of ership, it’s a gimmick.” 229 tycoons and 26 newlyThe former Congress presi- added billionaires had dent accused the BJP-led crossed Rs 97.50 lakh crore. continued on page 8 government at the Centre of Shekhar Singh Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni pose for a selfie at the iconic Colosseum in Rome. ANI co-development and co-production, while cooperation in shipping, port modernisation, logistics and the blue economy would deepen further given that both countries were major maritime powers. Modi also underlined the complementary strengths of the two economies, saying Italy was globally recognised for “design and precision”, while India had emerged as a “powerhouse of scale, talent and affordable innovation”. He said the two nations would move forward with the shared vision of “design and develop in India and Italy, and deliver for the world”. The two prime ministers also discussed the situation in Ukraine and the conflict in West Asia, stressing the need for restoring freedom continued on page 8 DIVINE COMFORT Xilikelytoattend BRICS summit in India in Sept Tribune News Service Water being poured on mats laid for people amid scorching heat at the Golden Temple on Wednesday. A severe heatwave has gripped the North, with mercury hovering close to 45°C in several places in Punjab and Haryana. Rohtak recorded a high of 46.9°C and Bathinda 46.6°C. PTI RELATED REPORT BACK PAGE VB arrests PSPCL ex-CMD over graft Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 20 The Vigilance Bureau, Economic Offences Wing, Ludhiana, has arrested KD Chaudhary, a former and first Chief Managing Director (CMD) of the PSPCL, Sanjeev Prabhakar, a former Senior XEN, and Amit Garg, Director, Damini Resort and Builders Private Limited, Ludhiana, KD Chaudhary in VB custody. in a corruption case regarding irregularities in the installation of a 66 kV substa- tion at Basant Avenue. The arrests were made from their residences in Ludhiana. A spokesperson for the Vigilance Bureau said the coloniser of Basant Avenue, allegedly in collusion with the field officers concerned of the PSPCL, got the 66 kV substation installed in 1015 sq yards in his colony. He said the authorities had continued on page 8 New Delhi, May 20 Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to make his first visit to India in almost seven years and the first since the armies of the two sides were locked in a military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020. Xi is expected to join BRICS leader’s summit in New Delhi on September 1213. India will be hosting the annual summit as the chair of the group. Sources said an invite had been extended to all BRICS partner countries, including China, and Xi was likely to attend it. Russian President Vladimir Putin would attend the BRICS summit, the Russian Embassy in South Africa, yesterday, wrote in a post on X, citing an aide to Putin. If Xi comes to New Delhi for the summit, it would mark his first trip to the country since October 2019. Last year in September, Modi attended the SCO summit at continued on page 8 Closure after 26 years, van with remains of four of Ropar family taken out from Bhakra Lalit Mohan Tribune News Service Ropar, May 20 For 26 years, a family from Kotla village near Kiratpur Sahib lived with an unbearable mystery. Four of their loved ones had vanished without a trace after their Maruti Omni van plunged into the Bhakra canal while returning from a wedding in October 2000. There were no bodies, no vehicle and no final rites — only memories and unanswered questions. On Tuesday, the mystery finally seemed to have been The Omni van being pulled out of the Bhakra canal near Ropar. solved as a local diver chanced upon the mangled remains of the missing van while searching for a body in the deep waters of the canal near Nakkian village in Kirat- pur Sahib. Inside the van’s rusted shell were skeletal remains believed to be of cousins Tej Ram and Mune Lal, Surjeet and his eightyear-old son, who had disappeared along with the vehicle more than two decades ago. Despite a month-long search operation by professional divers then, neither the van nor the bodies could be found. “I noticed something unusual lying deep inside the canal. When I went closer, I realised it was a vehicle buried under silt and continued on page 8 Today’s issue is of 16 pages, including four-page Delhi Tribune. c m y b THE TRIBUNE SPECIAL Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 20 The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to Punjab Chief Secretary KAP Sinha, Principal Secretary (Housing and Urban Development) Vikas Garg and others on a petition which has challenged the policy approving the building of houses on delisted land on the periphery of Chandigarh. The petition, filed by the Public Action Committee, has accused senior bureaucrats Sinha and Garg of “institutional bias and conflict of interest”, claiming that they were instrumental in changing the land use in ecologically sensitive zones because their family members owned land there. The petitioners claimed that Sinha’s son, Shivam, and Garg’s father, Jagdish Chander Garg, had built houses on what was once agricultural land. Dismissing the assertion of conflict of interest, the Principal Secretary said, “There UNDER SCANNER OVER FARMHOUSES Bengal CM Suvendu transfers land to BSF for border fencing NEW DELHI: West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday handed over land to the BSF for international boundary fencing and security infrastructure, beginning with a 27km stretch. He said more land would be provided wherever required to strengthen border management in the state. INSIDE n Policy pertains to farmhouses on periphery of Chandigarh n Petitioners allege Chief Secre- tary KAP Sinha’s son Shivam owns land in the area n And so does JC Garg, father of Vikas Garg, Principal Secy (Housing & Urban Development) was absolutely no conflict of interest, as the state government had been informed well in advance about the land.” The Chief Secretary did not respond to repeated calls and a message left on his phone to seek his response. Hearing the petition, a Bench comprising NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad directed the petitioners to serve a notice on the respondents. The petitioners submitted before the tribunal that the policy permitted approval and regularisation of construction activities on de-listed PLPA and forest-influenced land which, according to them, was otherwise continued on page 8 Indigenous Suryastra rocket system having 300-km range tested BALASORE: In a major boost to India’s indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities, a Pune-based defence firm has announced the successful testfiring of its Suryastra Universal Rocket Launcher System. The rocket has a range of 300 km. The trials were conducted at the Interim Test Range in Odisha on May 18 and 19. — PTI Fighter jets, drones among42USaircraft lostinIranwar:Report WASHINGTON: At least 42 US aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, were lost or damaged during Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28 targeting Iran, according to an official report. Among the aircraft lost were four F-15E Strike Eagle jets and seven aerial refuelling planes. — PTI