eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE ‘Choti with power is a genius idea’ KOLKATA,LATECITY OCTOBER20,2024 14+4PAGES,`7.00 Shraddha Kapoor speaks on Stree 2, family, Instagram FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & `17 IN ANDAMAN) DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA DECISION 2024 ●JMM, Congress seal seat-sharing, RJD in cold ● Marandi, Champai in BJP’s 1st Jharkhand list ● Shinde: Maharashtra seat talks in final stage PAGE 7 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM GROUP OF MINISTERS’ MEETING Health cover for senior citizens, term life insurance may get GST waiver Final decision on recommendations to be taken by GST Council in November AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 19 tending such relief on Saturday. Separately, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation also discussed Saturday a GST rejig for several itemsandproposedcuttingrates forsomeitemssuchaspackaged water above 20 litres (5 per cent from18percent),bicyclespriced less than Rs 10,000 (5 per cent from 12 per cent) and exercise Police: 2 ITBP men killed in IED attack by Maoists in Chhattisgarh THE GOODS and Services Tax on premiums paid by senior citizens for health insurance and premiums paid by all for term life insurance may be exempted as most members of a ministerial panel set up specifically to study this agreed in favour of ex- JAYPRAKASH S NAIDU THE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS REVENUE IMPACT GST cut to 5% for packaged `22,000 crore gain from rationalisation of GST rate Health insurance premium, irrespective of cover, for senior citizens drinking water of over 20 litre (from 18%); bicycles priced under `10,000 (from 12%); and exercise books (from 12 %) Health cover till `5 lakh GST hike to 28% from 18% `2,200 crore loss from exemption on GST for senior citizens’ health insurance, `5-lakh cover for others GST EXEMPTION ON Term life insurance premium for all, including plans with family members RATE RATIONALISATION DIPLOMATS LEAVE OTTAWA, DELHI RAIPUR, OCTOBER 19 TWO PERSONNEL of the IndoTibetan Border Police (ITBP) were killed and two policemen injured when Maoists carried outanIED(improvisedexplosive device) blast in Abujhmad, in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh, on Saturday, police said. According to police, a joint team of security personnel, includingtheITBP,BorderSecurity Force (BSF), Bastar Fighters, District Reserve Guard (DRG) and local police, were returning from an operation when the blast occurred in a forest area near Kodiliyar village at around 11.30 am to 12 noon. Briefing the media, Inspector GeneralofPoliceforBastarRange, Sundarraj P said: “The ITBP personnelwhodiedhavebeenidentified as Amar Panwar (36) from Satara district of Maharashtra, and K Rajesh (36) from Kadappa in Andhra Pradesh. Both were from 53rd Battalion of ITBP.” The IED weighed 4-5 kgs, police said. Acting on information about the presence of Maoists from CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD NETANYAHU HOUSE ATTACKED BY DRONE, NO CASUALTY PAGE 10 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 for shoes priced above `15,000, wrist watches above `25,000 `200 crore loss from exemption on term life insurance START OF HEALING PROCESS: OMAR GOVT L-G puts stamp of approval on Omar Govt’s resolution seeking statehood Nijjar and Pannun part of one plot… let’s keep channels open, says Canada envoy ‘Dispute between govts, let people not pay price... normalcy will take long’ Canadian envoyto India Cameron MacKay. SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 19 AS THE Canadian diplomats left India Friday before their exit deadline ended Saturday midnight,CanadianHighCommissioner to India Cameron MacKay, wholeftthecountryinAugustaftercompletinghisterm,saidthat theUSindictmentpaintsa“compelling and detailed portrait” of “a single plot” emanating from Delhi to kill multiple targets across North America in Canada and the United States. This is the first time the Canadian envoy — officially, he is still High Commissioner — has spoken out publicly and linked the two alleged plots as one: the killing of pro-Khalistan separatistfigureHardeepSinghNijjar in Canada in June last year and the failed bid to kill proKhalistanseparatistGurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US. India has rejected the Canadianaccusationsas“absurd and politically motivated” but X/@HCCanInd has been more accommodating of US requests on information and action. MacKay’s Deputy High Commissioner Stewart Wheeler has been expelled along with five Canadian diplomats. New Delhi recalled its High Commissioner and five more diplomats —theCanadiangovernmentsaid that they have been expelled. Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma will leave Ottawa Saturday evening (Ottawa time) and theremaining Indian diplomats have left Ottawa for India. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 VIKASH YADAV’S FAMILY SAYS NOT SEEN HIM IN A YEAR PAGE 8 WAR OF WORDS IN MIZORAM Minister says convoy stopped, Assam Rifles says power outage at its posts SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, OCTOBER 19 DAYS AFTER a confrontation between the Mizoram Power and Electricity Minister’s staff and Assam Rifles personnel at a security barricade on the outskirts of Aizawl, allegations are flying from both sides. While the minister, F Rodingliana of the Zoram People’s Movement, has alleged that his convoy was stopped by the security personnel, the Assam Rifles has claimed that power supply to their posts in Mizoram was cut off following exempted for others — insurance over `5 lakh to attract 18% GST Assam Rifles personnel during a patrol. File the altercation. The confrontation took place on Thursday, on the highway near Zokhawsang, on the outskirtsof Aizawl.Videoclipsof the altercation showed a group of men — purportedly members of the minister’s staff — arguing with Assam Rifles personnel deployed on the highway. Following the incident, Rodingliana told reporters in Aizawl that his convoy was stopped when he was returning to the city from Champhai district, despite his team telling the security personnel that he was a minister. “A few metres after we passed the barricade, three personnel stopped us, stating that they were told to do so by their CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha administers oath to NC MLA Mubarak Gul as the pro-tem Assembly Speaker, Saturday. PTI QUAD POWER NavalshipsofIndia,USA,AustraliaandJapanduringtheseaphaseofExerciseMalabar2024.This year’seditionofthequadrilateralexercise,whichbeganonOctober8andconcludedonFriday,saw participationofwarships,theirintegralhelicopters,long-rangepatrolaircraftandsubmarines. PTI ‘LIVE ON SENSE OF HOPE’ SC people’s court, does not mean play role of Opp in Parliament: CJI Accused out on bail in Lankesh killing case joins Shinde Sena ‘Divide… SC wonderful if decision in favour, denigrated when against’ PAVNEET SINGH CHADHA STRESSING THAT the role of the Supreme Court as “the people’s court” must be preserved, Chief Justice of India DYChandrachud saidSaturdaythisdoesnotmean that the apex court has to fulfil the role of the Opposition in the Parliament. Speaking at an international legalconferenceorganisedbythe Supreme Court Advocates-onRecord Association (SCAORA) in South Goa, CJI Chandrachud, whoretiresonNovember10,said the access to justice paradigm of the Supreme Court, which has been developed over the last 75 years, is something “which we should never lose track of”. “Otherwise,associetiesgrow and societies evolve into more prosperity and affluence, there MUMBAI, OCTOBER 19 CJI D Y Chandrachud in Panaji on Saturday. PTI is a perception that you should be looking at only the big-ticket items. Ours is not a court like that. Ours is a court which is a people’s court. And I think the role of the Supreme Court as a people’s court must of course be preservedforthefuture,”hesaid. “Now,beingapeople’scourtis not to say that we fulfil the role of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 19 THE RESOLUTION passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, urgingtheUnionGovernmentto restore statehood to J&K, has been cleared by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. After Raj Bhawan’s clearance of the resolution, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will visit the nationalcapital“inthecomingdays” to meet the Prime Minister and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Shrikant Pangarkar gotbailon September4 VALLABH OZARKAR & SADAF MODAK PANAJI, OCTOBER 19 NAVEED IQBAL AN ACCUSED in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh has joined the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ahead of the Assembly elections in the state. ShrikantPangarkar,whowas arrested in August 2018 in the Lankesh case, was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court last month. He is also an accused in the 2018 Nalasopara arms haul case, in which he was granted bailearlier.Boththecasesareunder trial. On Friday, Pangarkar joined the Shinde Sena in the presence of party leader and former state minister Arjun Khotkar, who CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty interact with junior doctors at the protest site in Kolkata on Saturday. Express NEED 4 MONTHS TO CONSIDER DEMANDS: CM Mamata reaches out to junior doctors: ‘Ready to meet on Monday’ ATRI MITRA KOLKATA, OCTOBER 19 “I HAVE removed the Commissionerof Police(CP),the Director of Medical Education (DME)andtheDirectorof Health Services (DHS), but cannot remove everyone…need four months to consider other demands, including elections. Please withdraw your hunger strike.” With these words, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday reached out to the junior doctors who have been protesting against the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PAGE 1 ANCHOR ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 19 THE UNION Health Ministry is considering an “opt-out” method of cornea donation, whereby anyone who dies at a hospital will be presumed to be a cornea donor unless they register their dissent, according to the minutes of a meeting of experts with the Union Director General of Health Services. At present, India follows an opt-in system for harvesting any organ — including tissue like cornea — from deceased donors, meaning the patient and their familymembershavetoprovide their consent to the donation. “Experts were of the opinion that the opt-out method — where everyone who dies in a hospital is presumed to be a donor — is likely to increase the numberof cornealdonation.This suggestionhasbeenacceptedinprinciple” said an official. The official added that the proposal is being considered by legalteamsasthiswouldrequire changing the current law governing organ and tissue transplantation in the country. The move is aimed towards increasing the availability to corneas or the dome-shaped front layer of the eye. Patients with damaged cornea — bulging outward, thinning, tearing, swelling, ulcers, and complications from previous surgeries — require cornea transplant to relieve symptoms and restore vision. An estimated 2 lakh corneas are needed each year in EXPLAINED Consent presumed: Experts clear new plan for cornea donation in hospital deaths An estimated 2 lakh corneas are needed each year in India with only 50% of the demand being met. File E Advantage ● cornea CORNEAS ARE identified for “opt-out” consent because: it doesn’t need blood supply so can be harvested even 6 hours after death; not key in medico-legal cases; easy to harvest; and removal does not change facial features. India with only 50% of the demand being met. One of the experts consulted is Radhika Tandon, professor of ophthalmology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. “From the point of view of medical professionals and those waitingforcorneatransplant,an opt-out method is beneficial,” said Tandon, “because it is likely to increase the number of donations while preserving the autonomy of the deceased and their family members by allowing them the choice to opt out. But, of course, people may be hesitant or emotional about the issue, that needs to be looked into. In any case, this would require a change in the law.” There are several reasons why the government is consideringaseparatepolicyforcornea donation as compared to the opt-in method followed for donation of other organs. One, cornea is a tissue that does not need blood supply unlikeotherorgansandcanbeharvesteduptosixhoursafterdeath. Two, cornea can be easily harvested by technicians even at CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata