DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA ● POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 2025, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ‘MARKETS, GLOBAL CIRCUMSTANCES GUIDE ENERGY PURCHASES’ Loan ‘fraud’: ED summons Anil Ambani on Aug 5, issues look-out notice NEW DELHI, AUGUST 1 SEVEN DAYS after searching multiple locations in Mumbai linked to Anil Ambani, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned the industrialist onAugust5tojointheinvestigation into a money laundering caselinkedtoamulti-crorebank loan fraud involving companies of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The ED has also issued a Look-out Circular (LOC) to prevent him from travelling abroad, officials said Friday. TheEDisinvestigatingallegations of illegal diversion of loans wortharoundRs3,000croredisbursedbyYesBanktothegroup’s companies between 2017 and 2019.Theprobeagencyisalsoexamining whether there was a quidproquoinvolvedintheloan —specifically,if bribeswerepaid to bank officials, including Yes Bank promoters. SourcessaidtheEDhassummoned Anil Ambani at its Delhi headquarters on August 5 for questioning. “We have also opened a LoC of Anil Ambani as TRUMP TARIFF RATES (IN%) 40 39 SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 1 OVER30remarkscreditinghimself forthe India-Pakistan ceasefire, referring to India as a “dead economy,”droppingthe25%tariff bombshell and a Russia penaltyevenastalksareon—US President Donald Trump’s diatribe was met Friday by diplomatic pragmatism from the Ministry of External Affairs. Underlining that the IndiaUS partnership has “weathered several transitions and challenges,” the MEA said that New Delhi will remain “focused on the substantive agenda” even as itflaggedthatitsfriendshipwith Russia was “time-tested.” This response came the day Trump unveiled sweeping new tariffs on dozens of countries including 25 per cent for goods from India. Responding to a question, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 30 25 20 20 20 20 19 19 15 15 15 Source: White House * New tariffs to come in effect on Augt 7 *EU, South Korea, Japan struck trade deal with US ECONOMY PAK, BANGLADESH AMONG 50 COUNTRIES NOW WITH LOWER U.S. TARIFFS THAN INDIA PAGE 11 Why Trump talk of Pak’s ‘massive oil reserves’ is hot air — not much else SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 1 US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s announcementonThursdaythat AmericawillworkwithPakistan to develop the latter’s “massive” oilreservescameasabitof asurprise, as Pakistan is not exactly a countrysynonymouswithoilexplorationandproduction,unlike Saudi Arabia, Iraq or Venezuela. Infact,Islamabaddependsheavily on energy imports, hasdwindlinghydrocarbon production, and a rather inconsistent and uninspiring record of oil and gas exploration. There have been a few preliminary studies and reports of potential reserves over the years, but they have re- mained inconclusive, and the world’s oil majors have so far largely steered clear of hydrocarbon exploration in Pakistan. But Trump went to theextentof sayingthat ● “maybe” Pakistan will be “selling oil to India some day”, a remark that many have interpreted as a veiled jibe E EXPLAINED EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE On swipe against India-Russia, says: Bilateral ties not through third country prism Myanmar Switzerland South Africa India Vietnam Bangladesh Sri Lanka Taiwan Pakistan Philippines EU Japan South Korea The ED had searched 35 locations linked to the industrialist on July 24 MEA dials down Trump noise: India, US weathered challenges, focus on future CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 With US their largest market, worried apparel exporters seek help from govt RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 1 WITH PRESIDENT Donald Trump setting a higher tariff on India (at 25 per cent) than on over 50 other countries — including Bangladesh and Vietnam, which, together with China,areamongthetopapparel exporters to the United States — domesticapparelexportershave expressed concern and sought government intervention. The new tariffs are set to come into effect from August 7. “We request immediate government intervention to offset this huge setback. Exporters have their back against the wall and will have to sell below cost to keep their factories running and avoid mass layoffs,” Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), said in a statement. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 KAL PENN AT ADDA INSIDE NEW LIST: JAIPUR ‘ATOM BOMB’ PROOF BJP CHIEF SPARKS AGAINST EC: RAHUL OUTRAGE PAGE 3 PAGE 7 Actor and activist Kal Penn in conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group, at Express Adda in Mumbai on Friday. Narendra Vaskar 63-yr-old woman sent to Pak after Pahalgam set to return to family ARUN SHARMA JAMMU, AUGUST 1 THREE MONTHS after revoking allshort-duration visas issuedto Pakistani nationals and deporting nearly 60 individuals to the neighbouring country, the Government of India has decided to issue a visitor’s visa to 63-year-old Rakshanda Rashid, the wife of a retired government official, so that she can return from across the border and rejoin her family in Jammu and Kashmir. The woman, a resident of Jammu’s Talab Khatikan area, was deported to Pakistan on April 29 via the Atari-Wagah border in the aftermath of the Pahalgamterrorattack.Herhusband, Sheikh Zahoor Ahmed, andfourgrown-upchildrencontinuetostayinJ&Ksincetheyare Indian nationals. The matter came up in the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on July 30, with the SolicitorGeneralof India, Tushar Mehta, saying that “after much deliberations and considering the peculiarity of facts and unusual factual position obtaining in the mater, an in-principle decision is taken by the authority to grant a visitor’s visa to the respondent”. “Thereafter, she may even, if so advised, pursue the two applications that are purportedly moved by her and pending with the respective authority as regards acquiring Indian citizenship as also the long-term visa,’’ he said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY V-P ELECTION TO BE HELD ON SEPT 9: POLL PANEL PAGE 6 A Karnataka temple town in the grip of hysteria over rumours, and skeletons PAGE 1 ANCHOR AKRAM M DHARMASTHALA, AUGUST 1 SINCE TUESDAY, July 29, in the forests along the banks of the Netravati in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, police officers, a few workers, a small earthmover and a masked man have been part of an unusual exercise: turning the wet earth inside out to see if it holds secrets — and skeletons. One of the 13 locations in Dharmasthala that is being dug up for possible human remains. (Right) The sanitation worker who has alleged that he secretly buried bodies. Express With Dharmasthala in the grip of hysteria around rumours and allegations by a former sanitation worker, identified on social media by the pseudonym ‘Bheema’, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Karnataka government CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Jaipur EC publishes draft electoral rolls in Bihar, objections allowed until Sept 1 HIMANSHU HARSH PATNA, AUGUST 1 THEELECTIONCommission(EC) on Friday announced the publication of Bihar’s draft electoral rolls, compiled as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The Commission said the lists are now available for download on its portal and are being distributed in both physical and digital formats to all recognised political parties across the state’s 38 districts. Data released by the EC showed that while over 7.24 crore enumeration forms were successfully received and incorporated,morethan65lakhwere not received. The EC said the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar and all 243 electoral registration officers (EROs) are now inviting claims and objections fromelectors and political parties to be submitted between August 1 and September 1. “Any elector from an Assembly constituency or any recognised political party may submit claims to include missing eligible electors, remove CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Case 1 of 3: Former JDS MP Prajwal Revanna found guilty of rape EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE BENGALURU, AUGUST 1 A SPECIAL court for elected representatives in Bengaluru on Friday pronounced former Janata Dal Secular MP Prajwal Revanna, 34, guilty in one of the three rape cases registered against him in Karnataka's Hassan district last year. The quantum of the sentence will be declared on Saturday. The conviction will attract a sentenceof 10-14yearsinprison forthegrandsonof formerprime ministerHDDeveGowda,sonof Karnataka ex-minister H D Former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna at the Bengaluru court on Friday. PTI Revanna and nephew of Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy. Following the verdict, Prajwal CONTINUED ON PAGE 2