eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE The Supplements Health supplements are seen as magic pills that can eliminate need for doctors. But they are not without their side effects JAIPUR,LATECITY JULY27,2025 14+4PAGES,`6.00 DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR,PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM Goyal: UK deal ‘gold standard’ for FTAs, will retaliate if carbon tax hurts our interest INDIA-MALDIVES RESET AsPM reiterates support,Muizzu callsIndiaa crucialpartner RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, JULY 26 Ministry asks JNU V-C why she skipped meet, views it ‘seriously’ JNU V-C Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit VIDHEESHA KUNTAMALLA & ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND NEW DELHI, JULY 26 INANunusualmove,theMinistry of Education (MoE) has sought a formal explanation from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)Vice-ChancellorSantishree Dhulipudi Pandit for skipping a recent conference of Central Universities'Vice-Chancellorsorganised by the Centre in Gujarat, saying her absence was being “viewed seriously”, The Indian Express has learnt. In a letter sent to Pandit this week, a senior official of the Departmentof HigherEducation noted that she had skipped both days of the conference “without formal approval”, despite being “formally invited well in advance”. Saying that her absence CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Modi attends Maldives I-Day; defining visit sets clear path for ties: Muizzu Union Minister Piyush Goyal addresses reporters in New Delhi on Saturday. ANI and allows high-quality goods, technology and other products to come to India,” Goyal said at a press briefing. The minister said most free trade agreements (FTAs) are with countries that do not CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 KARGIL VIJAY DIWAS Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, CDS General Anil Chauhan, Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt General N S Raja Subramani, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh at the National War Memorial in New Delhi. PTI P7 PETITIONERS RESPOND TO EC COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT IN TOP COURT Woman faints during Bihar Home Guard test, EC’s verification of citizenship raped on way to hospital defies past SC judgments: ADR HIMANSHU HARSH PATNA, JULY 26 TWOAMBULANCEstaff werearrestedonFridayforallegedlyrapinganunconsciouswomaninside the emergency vehicle in Bihar’s Bodh Gaya. The woman was beingtakentoahospitalafterlosing consciousness during a Home Guard recruitment drive. According to the police, on July 24, during the physical run at Bodh Gaya, the woman collapsed and fell unconscious. She was immediately taken to an ambulance stationed at the site. “The woman later alleged CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CHIRAG TARGETS NITISH GOVT PAGE 6 DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, JULY 26 THE ASSOCIATION for DemocraticReforms(ADR),inits reply to the Election Commission’s counter-affidavit in the Supreme Court, has argued that the poll panel's claim of having the constitutional authoritytoverifyelectors'citizen- SOUMYARENDRA BARIK & ANIL SASI NEW DELHI, JULY 26 AMID DWINDLING car sales at theentrylevel,themarketiswitnessing a remarkable transformation as it sees asharp uptrend in favour of premium models at themid-levelsegmentandabove. Hyundai Creta, a premium feature-ladenmid-segmentSUV withpricesstartingatRs11lakhplus, has emerged as the country’s top selling car in June 2025. With Maruti’s Ertiga, a Multi- E ● Mixed signals IN RECENT years, more and more consumers are opting for the more expensive midsegment cars. This could reflect rising aspirations of first-time buyers, but also erosion of purchasing power at the lower end of consumer pyramid. Companies are figuring it out. Utility Vehicle, the two accountedforalmosttwo-thirdsof all cars sold in the month. What is also remarkable is that nearly one in three Creta buyers is a first-time car owner. OfficialsinHyundaisaidthecontribution of first-time buyers in Creta’s customer base has gone upsharplyto29percentin2024 from just 12 per cent in 2020. The car market has had a mixed year in 2024-25. While it hit a new sales peak at 4.3 million, the growth was sluggish at just around 3 per cent, primarily CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 Inseparable siblings, girl who wanted to be a teacher: 7 lives cut short at Rajasthan school PIPLODI (JHALAWAR), JULY 26 COUNTINBIHAR ship during the ongoing Special IntensiveRevision(SIR)of Bihar’s electoral rolls flies in the face of pastjudgments.Italso calledthe exclusion of Aadhaar and ration cards from the list of acceptable documents “patently absurd”, notingthatAadhaariswidelyaccepted when applying for passports, caste certificates and permanent residence documents. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, JULY 26 MARKING THE reset in bilateral ties between India and the Maldives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Independence Day celebrations of the island nation as the guest of honour on Saturday. As Modi left for India in the evening, President Mohamad Muizzu said it was “a defining visit that sets a clear path for the future of Maldives-India relations”. Earlier in the day, Modi was welcomed by Muizzu at the iconic Republic Square, the venue of the ceremony at the heart of the Maldivian capital. Modi sat next to Muizzu and watched the over 50-minute eventmarkingthe60thanniversary of the independence of the Maldives, which included a military parade and colourful cultural performances by children and traditional artistes. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RAS lsfeukj IAS/ RAS esa p;fur vf/kdkfj;ksa }kjk ekxZn'kZu FOUNDATION BATCH 28 tqykbZ lkseokj @ 10:15 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Payal (14), Priyanka (12), Kundan (10), siblings Meena (8) and Kanha (6), Kartik (8), Harish (8) about education, all Payal wanted to do was become a “government official”. “Shekept asking my parents to send her to a private school,” her sister Sunitasaid.“Shewantedtoleave the village and go outside for higher education eventually.” Her parents were thinking of sending her to a private school nextyear.“Nowit’stoolate.Iwish I had listened to her,” said her mother, Sapna. Priyanka, 12: One of eight CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Meet the ‘Pookie professor’ who won hearts on IIT Ropar’s graduation day PAGE 1 ANCHOR DIVYA GOYAL GOPAL ROPAR, JULY 26 LIONEL MESSI’S slow-mo walk and victory pose, Korean finger hearts, fist bumps, the dab pose. By the end of a three-hour convocation ceremony, Professor Rajeev Ahuja, 60, had mastered manycomplexGenZmovesand done the seemingly impossible task—of walkingacrossthegen- NOT DIVYA A 29 tqykbZ ls cSp izkjEHk PARUL KULSHRESTHA FROM A boy who loved playing cricket to a girl who hoped to leave her village to study further — the seven children who died onFriday,whentheroof atagovernment school in Rajasthan caved in, were full of big dreams and bigger ambition. Astheirfamiliesgrapplewith griefandanger,TheIndianExpress looks at the lives that were lost. Payal, 14: Always passionate WHAT WILL Prime Minister Narendra Modi with President Mohamed Muizzu during the Maldives’ 60th Independence Day celebrations in Male on Saturday. PTI K-shape: Small cars in slow lane as 1st-time buyers seek bigger SUVs EXPLAINED COMMERCE AND industry Minister Piyush Goyal Saturday said that the India-UK trade deal canserveas“agoldstandard”for trade negotiations with other partners, as it opens doors for business while protecting sensitive sectors. He also warned that New Delhi will retaliate if the UK’s carbon tax, set to come into effect on January 1, 2027, harms India’s interests. “Our effort is that the Indian industry gets preferential access overourcompetition,andIthink this (UK FTA) can become a gold standard to ensure that India protects its sensitive sectors and opens the doors, particularly in highly labour-intensive sectors, FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT Tanisha Daharwal, a BTech grad from Bhopal and a BTS fan, got Prof Rajeev Ahuja to strike a ‘Korean hearts’ pose. Express erational aisle and meeting his students where they are. OnJuly16,attheconvocation ceremony of the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, as student after student went up on stage to receive their degree certificates, Ahuja, Director and professor of computational materials science at the institute, obliged them by striking the most playful of poses. In hiswhite kurta and yellow graduation sash, Ahuja fumbled through some of the moves, but did them alright — turning the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SI NEW BATCH 22 tqykbZ ls cSp izkjEHk TEST SERIES 2025 27 tqykbZ ls izkjEHk Online & Offline Batch Riddhi - Siddhi, Gopalpura Bypass, Jaipur 9636977490, 0141-3555948 Exclusive Live Batch from Classroom Contact usSpringboard Academy Online Springboard Academy Jaipur ,si MkmuyksM djus ds fy, QR Code LdSu djsa fLizaxcksMZ ,dMeh ds IAS, RAS grq izekf.kr Dykl ukV~l miyC/k The Notes Hub 7610010054, 7300134518 s s s Jaipur