eye MCS/204/2020-22RNINO.MAHENG2002/21899 THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE More Than Sushi MUMBAI,LATECITY AUGUST24,2025 Ramen bars, kawaii-themed cafés: India is in the middle of a Japanese dining boom 16+4PAGES,`6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM ‘NO U.S. PRESIDENT CONDUCTED FOREIGN POLICY SO PUBLICLY’ 24/08/2025 75 103 126 70 After ED, CBI moves against Anil Ambani with ‘`2,929-cr bank fraud’ case Selectively singledout... deniesall charges:His spokesperson MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, AUGUST 23 THE CENTRAL Bureau of Investigation(CBI)Saturdayfiled a case against industrialist Anil Ambaniandconductedsearches athisresidenceandthepremises of Reliance Communications in connectionwithanallegedbank fraudwhich,theagencyclaimed, caused a loss of over Rs 2,929 crore to State Bank of India (SBI). The CBI obtained the search warrants from a Mumbai court Friday. “The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a criminalcaseonAugust21against M/sRelianceCommunicationLtd (RCOM),Mumbai,itsDirectorAnil D Ambani, unknown public servantsandunknownothersonthe allegations of defrauding the bank,andtherebycausingwrongful loss of Rs 2,929.05 crore to the bank,”aCBIspokespersonsaidin a statement. A spokesperson for Anil Ambani said the industrialist had been “selectively singled out”and“stronglydeniesallallegations and charges”. The CBI move comes days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a case against Anil Ambani and questioned him over an alleged “Rs 20,000 croreloanscam”.Atthetime,the Anil Ambani group had denied the charges and said that it remains “committed to full legal compliance, transparency, and the regulatory process”. According to the CBI, its case stemsfromacomplaintreceived on August 18 from Jyoti Kumar, DGM of SBI’s Mumbai branch. Kumar alleged in his complaint thatthefraudperpetratedbythe accused came to light when the forensicauditorsubmitteditsreport on October 15, 2020. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Jaishankar hits out at Trump tariff, says India-US talks still on, ‘lines not cut’ Tariff unjustified & unfair... India red lines on farmers’ interests: EAM DIVYA A NEW DELHI, AUGUST 23 DAYS AFTER he targeted President Donald Trump's administration from Moscow over the additional tariff on India for Russian oil purchase, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday reiterated that the US tariff was “unjustified and unfair”, and said it was being wrongly “presented as an oil issue”. He also underlined that India has certain “red lines” and would not compromise on protecting the interests of its farmers and small producers. Jaishankar,however,saidtalks on the India-US trade deal were ongoingdespitetensions.“Weare two big countries, we need to haveconversations...andthelines are not cut, people are talking to eachother,andwewillseewhere that goes,” he said. Earlier, the US negotiators’ visit to India, scheduledforthesecondhalfofAugust, was “halted” for now. Speaking at The Economic Times World Leaders Forum 2025, Jaishankar said: “We have not had a US President who has conductedforeignpolicyaspublicly as the current one. That itself is a departure that's not lim- ‘Tariff being presented as oil issue’ ited to India... President Trump’s way of dealing with the world is averymajordeparture…theapplicationof tariffsinthismanner even for trade is novel.... the application of tariffs on non-trade is even more so”. Trump has announced 50 per cent tariff on Indian products, the highest on any country globally. While 25 per cent tariff has already come into effect, the levy of another 25 per cent – overenergyimportsfromRussia – is supposed to be enforced from August 27. Earlier this week, Jaishankar had said in Moscow that he was “very perplexed” by the additional 25 per cent US tariff on India because “it was the Americans” who said “we should do everything to stabilise the world’s energy markets, including buying oil from Russia”. “... this (tariff) is being presented as an oil issue. But why I say 'being presented' is because CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BENGALURU, AUGUST 23 A FORMER sanitation worker at the temple town of Dharmasthala, who claimed to havecarriedoutdozensof secret burials of bodies there between RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 23 THE DEPARTMENT of Posts, under the Ministry of Communications, on Saturday decided to temporarily suspend the booking of all types of USbound postal articles with effect from August 25, except letters, documents and gift items up to $100 in value, an official statement said. This comes after the US, on July 30, withdrew the duty-free de minimis exemption for goods valued up to $800 from August 29. This means that all international postal items destined for the US, regardless of their value, willbesubjecttocustomsduties under the US tariff framework. “The Department of Posts has decided to temporarily suspend booking of all types of postal articles destined for the US with effect from August 25, 2025, except letters/ documents and gift items up to $100 in value. These exempt categories will continue to be accepted and conveyed to the US. The Department is closely monitor- ing the evolving situation in coordinationwithallstakeholders, andeveryeffortisbeingmadeto normalise services at the earliest possible opportunity,” the Ministry of Communications said. “Customers who have already booked articles that cannot be dispatched to the US due tothesecircumstancesmayseek a refund of postage. The Department of Posts deeply regrets the inconvenience caused tocustomers and assures that all possible measures are being CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Trump names key White House aide as envoy to India with regional role SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 23 SEVEN MONTHS after assuming office for a second term, US President Donald Trump has nominated a key member of his White House team, Sergio Gor, as the new US ambassador to India. Gor will also be Trump's X/SergioGor Sergio Gor is a key member of the White House team Special Envoy for South and CentralAsianAffairs,indicatinga wider role. The 38-year-old's nomination comes at a critical juncture when bilateral ties have nosedived after the Trump administration imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, mainly citing the purchase of Russian oil. Gor's CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Screen Awards 2025 TWO VILLAGES AS PHASE-2 DEADLINE NEARS One village readies papers, another to go digital with asks: Why are they making us do it? YouTube tie-up EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, AUGUST 23 ADOPTING A digital-first approach, The Indian Express Group is bringing back the prestigiousScreenAwardsthisyear in collaboration with YouTube, offering open access to global audiences. For the first time ever, Bollywood’s biggest stars will share the spotlight with YouTube’s most influential creators, who will be woven into every leg of this three-month-long festival — from red carpet and behind-the-scenes content to creator-led storytellingandfanengagement. The winners will bechosenbytheScreenAcademy, an independent, not-for-profit body of acclaimed filmmakers, artists and cultural voices. Speaking on the collaboration, Gunjan Soni, Managing Director — India, YouTube said: “We are thrilled to be the digital home for the Screen Awards, bringing a cultural icon to its next chapter. YouTube is wherebillionsof fansconnect with the entertainment they love, and we’re excited for them to experience one of cinema’s biggest nights in an immersive way. By bridging Bollywood’s biggest stars with YouTube’s most influential creators, we are buildinganengagedcommunity for an iconic event and unlocking CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Sanitation worker who made claims of secret burials at Dharmasthala held EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Tariff fallout: India suspends most postal services to US from August 25 1995 and 2014, has been arrested by a Special Investigation Team of the Karnataka police for allegedly providing false information after SIT searches for bodies yielded no results. The former sanitation worker, C N Chinnaiah, 45, was arrested on Saturday morning. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara confirmed the arrest and stated that it was part of effortstofindthetruthbehind theallegationsof "secretburials" in Dharmasthala. The arrest of the former sanitationworker,wholedtheSITon CONTINUEDONPAGE2 SANTOSH SINGH PURNIA, AUGUST 23 IN HIS white kurta and dhoti, Biranchi Paswan, 75, looks every bit a politician. Nephew of Bihar’s first Dalit Chief Minister Bhola Paswan Shastri, Biranchi, a small farmer, has never dabbled in politics, but the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has given him a cause. Thesedays,hehasbeenrallyingpeopleinBairgachhi,avillage that’s barely six km from Purnia town and the ancestral base of his famous uncle, to ensure that WHAT WILL NOT COUNTINBIHAR every elector whose name has made it to the draft roll submits her documents to one of the three Booth Level Officers (EC- Voters submit their papers at Bairgachhi. Santosh Singh appointed BLOs) in the village. As part of the second phase of the SIR, electors have time CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Truck accident has ripples in US policy — and in a village in Punjab KAMALDEEP SINGH BRAR & ANJU AGNIHOTRI CHABA AMRITSAR, CHANDIGARH, AUGUST 23 THE FAMILY of Harjinder Singh, who was involved in an accident inFloridathatkilledthreepeople, acasethatledtotheUnitedStates haltingvisasforcommercialtruck drivers, is still grappling to come to terms with the news playing outthousandsofkilometresaway. Harjinder Singh allegedly took an illegal turn on Florida Turnpike, killing 3 “We don’t want to keep talking about it. We are sorry for the three deaths in the accident. He made a mistake, but it wasn’t an intentional crime,” said his brother,Tejinder.“Hecanbepunished for the mistake, but it shouldn’t be treated as if he intended to kill.” OnAugust12,Harjinder(30), who migrated to the US in 2018 throughthedunkiroute—anetworkof humansmugglingoperations — allegedly took an illegal CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT Negotiations to start soon on GE engine for Tejas Mk2 jets French major Safran to power indigenous 5th-gen AMCA AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 23 TWO YEARS after state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and US defence major General Electric (GE) Aerospace signed a pact to jointly produce fighter jet engines, the two sides will begin commercial negotiations on the deal shortly, The Indian Express has learnt. Additionally, the Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO)hasfinalised FrenchmajorSafrantojoinhands with the Bengaluru-based Gas Turbine Research Establishment to manufacture an advanced jet engine in India which will power India’sindigenousfifthgeneration Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Officials familiar with developments on the HAL-GE pact said the aim is to conclude commercial negotiations within the next three months and finalise the deal to co-produce the F414 engines, which will power the Light Combat Aircraft Mk2 jets for the IAF. In June 2023, GE Aerospace signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HAL to produce fighter jet engines. The announcement of the pact had come during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US. The final deal was expected to be signed soon after approval from the US Congress and finalisationof commercialterms.The US Congress cleared the engine deal in August 2023, but negoti- E EXPLAINED DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA Key to fighter jet ● squadron INDIA HAS been making efforts to produce combat jet engines by partnering with a global engine manufacturer and, in this light, the HAL-GE pact was seen as historic. However, the delay would have a cascading effect on India’s LCA Mk 2 programme, key to building its fighter jet squadron strength ationshavebeenongoingforthe last two years. Officials said while GE Aerospace had agreed to transfer 80 per cent of the engine technologytoIndiafollowingintense negotiations since 2012, it was withholding the transfer of certain key components. The key components of any jet engine include compressor, combustion chamber and turbine. Earlier,in2012,GEAerospace had agreed to transfer only 58 per cent of the technology. Twelve key technologies are being offered by GE Aerospace under the 80 per cent technology transfer, including special coatings for corrosion, erosion, and thermal barrier for hot end, machining and coating for single crystal for turbine blades, machiningandcoatingof nozzle guide vanes and other hot end CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lack of monsoon shelters: Mumbai’s homeless bear the brunt of heavy rain SADAF MODAK MUMBAI, AUGUST 23 THE TORRENTIAL rain in Mumbai this week has raised concerns over the city’s homeless population, who have no shelter during extreme weather events. Families, including children and senior citizens living under bridges, flyovers, footpathsandbusstops,whobraved the rain this week, did not have easy access to shelter homes, with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) failing to set up monsoon shelters despite directions by the state-level shelter monitoring committee. The BMC claims it has 23 shelters across the city for the homeless; most of these, however, are homes catering to specific populations like aftercare youth, abandoned women and others, not easily accessible for the homeless seeking shelter during the monsoon. According to the operational guidelines for the Scheme of Shelter for Urban Homeless under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), based on Supreme Court orders, for every one lakh urban population, provisions should be made for permanent community shelters for a minimum of one hundred persons, with at least125shelterhomesrequired inMumbai.If onehastotakeinto accounttheCensusof India2011, the homeless population in the city was 57,416, which would require over 500 shelter homes. Thenumberof 23shelterhomes, therefore, remains inadequate. BMC’s Director of Planning Prachi Jambhekar said these 23 homes are as per guidelines of the NULM and the process to set up more homes is underway. The state-level committee CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Spotted by Dhanraj, India women team goalkeeper puts Gujarat on hockey map PAGE 1 ANCHOR MIHIR VASAVDA MUMBAI, AUGUST 23 THE TWO Ds synonymous with Surat — dhandho (business) and diamond — never interested BansariSolanki.Growingup,she wanted to be an engineer like her father. “Aeronautics,” she smiles. Sport — hockey, specifically — was not even an afterthought. Until, after a few twists of fate, she was spotted and mentored by the legendary India forward Dhanraj Pillay, then nurtured by Olympian Romeo James to be- come one of India’s finest goalkeepers currently. A decade after her seemingly improbable journey began, Solanki has put Gujarat, a state with little-to-no tradition in the sport, on the world hockey map. According to hockey historian K Arumugam, the 24-yearold,whoispartof theIndiateam for next month’s Asia Cup in Hangzhou, China, is the first woman from the western state to represent the country. She is alsothefirstfromGujarat--male orfemale--toplayforIndiaafter Vadodara-born Gobind Savant, who played as a left-half in the silver medal-winning team at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Vadodara has been central to Solanki’s rise as well. She started playing “for fun” after a teacher introduced the sport at her school. That fun turned into sort of an obsession as Solanki watched the Hockey India League (HIL) matches on television. By the time she entered her teens, she was completely smitten, and when she heard about the academy Pillay had started in Vadodara, she packed her bags and moved to thecitytwohoursnorthof Surat. “In Gujarat, there was no hockey at all,” Solanki tells The IndianExpress.“Istartedplaying just for fun at my school. Then, Dhanraj Pillay Sir came to Gujarat and he provided me with the platform.” Solanki accidentally became a goalkeeper. Playing for her Bansari Solanki (2nd from right) with other goalkeepers and Dutchman Dennis van de Pol, the goalkeeping coach. Express school team, she started as a defender. However, for one of the matches, the team was without a goalkeeper. “I was a little tall and fat, so the coach told me, ‘you become our goalkeeper',” Solanki laughs. Ironically, one of the world’s fiercest goal-scorers, who made a career by outwitting the goalkeepers, became her guru. Pillay remembersSolankias“thehardworkinggirlwhoaskedthemost number of questions”. The Sports Authority of Gujarat had appointed the former India captain as the executive director and chief coach of its newly-established hockey programme. “In that role, I travelled to different corners of Gujarattoscoutplayersandheld selection trials. That’s how I came across Bansari, who appeared at a selection trial in Vadodara,” Pillay says. “Her parents fully supported her,whichwasessentialbecause Gujarat had no hockey history. She was hardworking, which is alwaysacoach’sdelight.Andshe was curious, always asking the right questions. We had 35 girls and 35 boys, and Bansari emerged as one of the finest players in that group,” he says. One time, Pillay recalls, his protege penned an “emotional tribute” for him. Solankiremembersherearly years training under Pillay fondly. “He was my biggest inspiration, having come from a humble background to reach great heights. With him around, I had a lot of hope that if such a legend is my coach, maybe I can achieve something too,” she says. Solanki became a key player in Pillay’s academy team that travelledacrossGujaratforcompetitions. Romeo James, the Olympian who was the coach of theNationalHockeyAcademyin NewDelhi,noticedherperformances and picked her in 2017. In the first few months of livinginDelhi,Solankihadfrequent bouts of homesickness. “Vadodara was just a couple of hoursawayfromSurat.ButDelhi is very far… and culturally very different since most of the players were from the Northern CONTINUEDONPAGE2