eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE At home in her world LUCKNOW,LATECITY FEBRUARY23,2025 Kani Kusruti on why she is a reluctant actor, how her parents influenced her choices 12+4PAGES,`6.00 DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA MAHAKUMBHMELA: FINALSNANON MAHASHIVRATRI, GOVTRAMPSUP PREPARATIONS PAGE3 University owner who faced attacks from Himanta held in Assam Mahbubul Hoque, the owner of USTM SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, FEBRUARY 22 MAHBUBUL HOQUE, the owner of the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM) – a private educational institutionontheoutskirtsof Guwahati that has been at the receiving end of several attacks by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, including allegations of ‘flood jihad’ — was arrested by the Assam police early Friday morning from his residence in Guwahati. A senior Assam Policeofficial confirmed that Hoque had been arrested in connection with a case registered in the Sribhumi district on Friday. According to police, a "law and order" situation erupted at the Central Public School in the Patharkandi area of Sribhumi district on Friday during the CBSE class 12 physics examination. The school is run by the Education and Research Development (ERD) Foundation founded by Hoque, which also runs the USTM. Videos from outside the school after the examination show a group of uniformed students shouting, “We want justice.”Onestudentisheardclaiming that they had enrolled in a special coaching programme by theERDfoundation,inwhichthe centre head assured them that they would “get help” to clear their board examination. “When we were given admission, we were told that we don’t need to worry about boards,” he is heard saying. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Tickets as gifts to screenings in malls: Dubai braces for a Sunday humdinger EXPRESSAT CHAMPIONS TROPHY VENKATA KRISHNA B DUBAI, FEBRUARY 22 SECURITY GUARDS outside the ICC Academy in Dubai struggled tocontrolhundredsof eagerfans jostling to catch a glimpse of the Indianteam’spracticesessionon the eve of the much-anticipated game against Pakistan. Anyone with a lanyard and an access ID is being asked for passesforthebigICCChampions Trophy match. Tears stream down a child’s face after missing out on a Babar Azam selfie outside the Dubai International Stadium. After a quiet start to the tournament in Dubai, the IndiaPakistan game is generating great excitement. There is a downside though —thecheapestticketforaseatin the 30,000-seater Dubai International Stadium costs Rs 12,000 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 I&B REPLY TO HOUSE PANEL Govtexamines ifnewlawis requiredfor digitalplatforms Freedomof expressionbeingmisused toshowcaseobscenecontent:Ministry The Indian cricket team during a practice session in Dubai on Saturday, a day ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy match against Pakistan. PTI Gold heist: Canada Ex-RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das to be Principal Secy-2 to PM police touch base with ED on suspect ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 22 THEGOVERNMENTonSaturday appointedretired IAS officer and former Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das as Principal Secretary-2 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is probably the first Principal Secretary with experience in both fiscal and monetary policy. “His appointment will be coterminus with the term of the Prime Minister or until further order, whichever is earlier,” said a February 22 note by the Das’s tenure as Governor of RBI ended in Dec 2024 AppointmentsCommitteeof the Cabinet. Das’s appointment is significant — it comes at a critical juncture with the economy facing challenges from trade wars sparked by US President Donald Trump's policies, rupee volatility, and a broader slowing down of the Indian economy. His ex- FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT pertise, both as a manager of fiscal (he served both as Revenue Secretary and Economic Affairs Secretary in the Ministry of Finance) as well as monetary policy, puts him at a vantage positioninsteeringtheeconomyin such challenging times. Withlongtenuresatboththe North Block and the RBI, Das has a good grasp of not just the regulatory aspects of the financial marketsbutalsoof thetrade-offs involved in balancing the government’s growth objectives with the need to keep prices under check. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 VARINDER BHATIA CHANDIGARH, FEBRUARY 22 A DAY after the Enforcement DirectorateraidedtheMohaliresidence of 32-year-old Simran PreetPanesar,oneoftheninesuspects allegedly involved in Canada’sbiggestgoldheistworth $22.5 million, the agency has found that both he and his wife areCanadiannationals,itislearnt. The ED action came days after The Indian Express tracked ED officials raid the suspect’s home in Mohali on Friday. File down Panesar following a month-long investigation in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DIVYA A & SOUMYARENDRA BARIK NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 22 AMID COMPLAINTS OF violence and obscenitypertainingto content on digital platforms, especially in the backdrop of the recent Ranveer Allahbadia controversy, the Central government is examining the need to create a new legal framework to regulate such platforms. Initscommunicationtoaparliamentary panel, the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministryhassaidthereisagrowingconcerninthesocietythatthe constitutional right of “freedom of expressionisbeingmisusedto showcase obscene and violent content on digital platforms”. It has told the Standing CommitteeonCommunications and Information Technology — headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey — that while certain provisions exist under the current laws, there is a growing demand for a stricter and effective legal E E X P L A I NE D UTTAR PRADESH WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM The spectre of ● regulation OTT platforms do not fall under a specific regulatory framework. The IT rules require OTTs to implement a three-level grievance redressal mechanism, which is being contested in courts. OTTs have long argued for self regulation. framework to regulate such harmful content. “This ministry has taken note of these developmentsandisintheprocessof examining current statutory provisions and the need for a new legal framework,” it said. Less than 10 days ago, the committee had asked the I&B Ministry on February 13 regarding the amendments needed in the existing laws to clamp down CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Even those against Centre sets ball rolling Cong vote for me… to probe IIM Rohtak that’s what party Director, awaits nod needs: Tharoor To investigate if he lacked educational MINISTRY SEEKS PRESIDENT’S APPROVAL qualification required for the post RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 22 THE CENTRE has set the ball rolling for a Visitorial inquiry against IIM Rohtak director Dheeraj Sharma, the first such action after amendments to the IIM Act in 2023 gave the Education Ministry greater control over the country’s premier business schools. The Ministry has sought the approval of President Droupadi Murmu (in her capacity as the Visitorof IIMs)toprobeif Sharma IIM Rohtak director Dheeraj Sharma lackedtheeducationalqualificationrequiredforappointmentas thedirectorof IIMRohtakin2017, The Sunday Express has learned. It is awaiting approval from RashtrapatiBhavan,sourcessaid. The move comes almost three years after the Ministry CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 22 FACING HEAT from within over his remarks praising the Kerala LDF government’s handling of the economy, senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has underlined the need for the party to expand its base to attract new voters and flagged the “absence of a leader in Kerala’s Congress”. He also said the fact that he had been elected four times as Thiruvananthapuram MP showed that the people supported his right to express his views independently regarding thedevelopmentof thestateand The Cong MP was speaking on Varthamanam, a weekly podcast by ieMalayalam the country. He was available for the party, Tharoor said, but if the Congress did not need his services, he had “options”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Education primary for this 8-year-old girl in Uttarakhand — in a school and class of her own PAGE 1 ANCHOR AISWARYA RAJ TEHRI, FEBRUARY 22 AS ANSIKA Rawat, pigtails and all, pauses to look at the mighty Himalayas from her school’s verandah, a flurry of activity starts around her. Before the eightyear-old settles into her classroom — with its red desks and plenty of sunlight — she recites the morning prayer and the national pledge each day. Whileittakesavillagetoraise a child, it takes headmaster BijayanandBijalwan,anganwadi staffer Gulabi Devi and bhojan mata (mid-day meal cook) DarshaniDevitoeducateAnsika — the only student at the Government Primary School in Bhatoli,avillageinUttarakhand’s Tehri district. In Uttarakhand, whose hilly terrain and migration patterns have contributed to sparsely populated pockets and villages, schools such as Ansika’s are hardly an anomaly. The matter came up in the Assembly on February 20, when state educa- Ansika Rawat, 8, is the only student in the local primary school in Bhatoli village. Aiswarya Raj tion minister Dhan Singh Rawat, whilefieldingquestionsfromthe Opposition on single-student schools and deployment of teachers, said there are 7,073 schools with enrolments below 20 and 1,740 schools have just one teacher. Currently, the state has 146 single-childschools,131of these government ones, and 1,379 government schools have an average of three students. According to the 2023-24 report of the Unified District Information System for Education, a Central database, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow