DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, JULY 5, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 THIS TITLE IS FOR THE COUNTRY: CAPTAIN ROHIT SHARMA A billion-plus welcome As Kohli tears up, SKY soaks it in, Team India get a Mumbai Salaam MIHIR VASAVDA MUMBAI, JULY 4 WHAT MUST it feel like to be Rohit Sharma tonight? To hear his name reverberating at the Wankhede Stadium in the same rhythm as “Sachin, Sachin!”. To receive a standing ovation from hisownT20WorldCup-winning teammates. Or to be Virat Kohli. On the ground where he carried Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders 13 years ago, the chants of fans wereenoughforKohlitotearup. Or even Hardik Pandya. Booed relentlessly in Mumbai Indians’ hues of blue just three monthsago.Tonight,theycouldn'tstopsinginghisname.Pandya smiled and waved back; almost like the two parties putting the chapterbehindthem.Everything was forgiven and forgotten. Putsimply,whatwoulditfeel like to be one of the Men in Blue. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Forintegrityof exams,Centre asksstatesto helpinsecurity Deepak Joshi Home after lifting the T20 cricket World Cup, the Indian team heads to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai for a felicitation ceremony on Thursday; (right) Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an interaction with the Indian team, in New Delhi on Thursday. NEW DELHI, JULY 4 ‘What went on in your mind... How does mud taste?’ DEVENDRA PANDEY MUMBAI, JULY 4 “HOW DID the mud taste, Rohit?” “What was going on in your mind in your final over, Bumrah?” “What were you 05/07/2024 96 124 153 76 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY EXPRESS NETWORK HATHRAS STAMPEDE: 6 ‘SEVADARS’ HELD, MAIN ACCUSED ON THE RUN HEMANT SOREN BACK AS CM PAGES 6, 7 thinking during that gameturning catch, Surya?” These were some of the questions that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is learnt to have asked the T20 World Cupwinning India team when he met them at his residence in the Capital onThursday morning after their return from Barbados. Seated between captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid, with the rest of the players completing the circle, Modi’s meeting with the team lasted more than an hour. The Prime Minister was as curious as any fan, said sources. A few clips from the match were played during the meet-andgreet session, and he asked several players about various aspects of the exciting final. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A year after deadline, Megha Engg sends less than 10% EVs to BEST Until July 4, only 185 buses of total 2,100 ordered by BEST handed over PRATIP ACHARYA MUMBAI, JULY 4 THE BRIHANMUMBAI Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking, an autonomous bodyunderthecity’sciviccorporation,hasreceivedonly185electric busestilldateofthetotal2,100that weretobesuppliedbeforeAugust 2023 by EveyTrans Private Ltd, a subsidiary of Megha Engineering andInfrastructureLimited(MEIL). Data provided by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Central Pollution Control Board and BEST in response to an RTI application by YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW E AN XPRESS RTI APPLICATION TheIndianExpressrevealedthat BMC transferred Rs 493 crore to BEST Undertaking towards purchase of electric vehicles. Of this, BEST had spent only Rs 205.8 crore towards advance payment to EveyTrans Private Ltd. When asked about the delay, BEST General Manager Anil Diggikar said, “The supplier has DPIIT backs India Inc call to remove angel tax RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, JULY 4 AHEAD OF the Union Budget presentation expected later this month, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has backed the industry’sdemandtoremoveangel tax that the policymakers introduced to deter the use of unaccounted money but was viewed by startups as an impediment to much needed capital raising. DPIITSecretaryRajeshKumar Singh told the press Thursday that the department has reiterated its recommendation to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 cited certain issues relating to spare parts that have impacted the manufacturing of buses and thereby a delay in their supply. We sent them a notice last year andhavefolloweditupwithfurther notices.” An EveyTrans spokesperson, onhispart,said,“Themainproblem we are facing now is acquiring parts for manufacturing the battery. In our EV buses, the battery is laid down in the chassis and 60% of the manufacturing cost goes behind it. Owing to the Indo-China tensions we couldn’t get necessary raw material from China, which has contributed to delayinproductionsincethemajority of the spare parts for battery production are acquired from China.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Why industry wants itout THE INDUSTRY says taxes levied on the difference between issue price of unlisted securities and its fair market value has hurt funding as investors fund startups based on their future potential and it may be incorrect to see it as a sign of money laundering. NRI sponsors, live broadcasts and a murder: Punjab’s world of pigeon racing PAGE 1 ANCHOR DIVYA GOYAL GOPAL LUDHIANA, JULY 4 LAST MONTH, an argument between two friends over who to invite for a pigeon racing event that they were jointly hosting in Ikolaha village of Punjab’s Ludhiana district ended in the death of one. Both Gurdeep Singh,22,andhisfriendKuldeep Singh alias Vicky Aujla, 44, coowned a flock of over 100 pigeons and would frequently or- Victim Gurdeep Singh’s grandmother Mukhtiar Kaur at Ludhiana’s Ikolaha village. Gurmeet Singh ganise such events in the village. ThefriendshadgotintoanargumentoverKuldeepinvitingarivaltotheJune23racingevent.The argument ended with Kuldeep andhissonDaman,20,bludgeoningGurdeepwithanironrod,police said. Gurdeep is survived by hisminorbrotherandtheirgrandmother Mukhtiar Kaur. Inspector Hardeep Singh, SHO, Sadar Khanna police station, said, “Kuldeep and Daman went to Gurdeep’s house after the event. When Gurdeep came out, Daman hit him on the head with an iron rod. Gurdeep died of a head injury at a Chandigarh CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RITIKA CHOPRA & MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL PTI THE UNION government has reached outto the states for help in ensuring the integrity of its entrance tests. Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla held a meeting with all state Chief Secretaries and DGPs last week to seek their assistance in overseeing the conduct of upcoming tests including the All India Ayush Postgraduate Entrance Test(AIAPGET)and the Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE) on July 6. The AIAPGET, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for the Ayush Ministry, is for admissions to MD/MS programmes in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy. The FMGE, conducted biannually by the National Board of Examination (NBE) under the Health Ministry, screens overseas medical graduates seeking topractisemedicineinIndia.Just under one lakh candidates appearedforthetwotestslastyear. Botharecomputer-basedexams. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2