The Editorial Page: India needs to win back foreign investors. Three things to do 10 FRIdAY, MAY 15, 2026 Journalism of Courage KolKAtA, lAtE cIty, 18 PAgES ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in Andaman) l www.indianexpress.com dA I ly F r o M : A H M E dA b A d , c H A N d I gA r H , d E l H I , j A I P U r , Ko l K AtA , l U c K N o w , M U M b A I , N Ag P U r , PAt N A , P U N E , vA d o dA r A Happening today AfTER HIKE IN GOLD IMPORT DUTy AND PM’S CALL fOR AUSTERITy MEASURES Modi will visit the UAE at the start of his five-nation tour, which includes the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Italy. To attract foreign investors, Govt considers cut in withholding tax Track These and more on www.indianexPress.com Currently, non-residents pay about 20% — one of the highest in the world lPrime minister Narendra Business as usual By EP UNNY Aanchal Magazine & Siddharth Upasani New Delhi, May 14 afTer hIKINg import duty on gold, the government and the reserve Bank of India are learnt to be considering multiple measures to attract foreign investment inflows including a cut in the withholding tax rate on government bonds, if not completely elim- inating it. Withholding tax is akin to a tax deducted at source and is paid by foreign investors on interest income they receive on their holding of Indian bonds. at present, non-residents pay a withholding tax of about 20% on the interest they get on the government bonds they hold — one of the highest in the world — after a concessional rate of 5% ended in 2023. The discussions on some of these proposals have been on over the past few weeks with policy makers keen to conserve foreign exchange reserves and secure the external account amid the ongoing West asia conflict. Prime Minister Narendra Moditoohadrecentlyappealed to the people to stop buying gold, use public transport and car pool to cut fuel consump- tion, avoid foreign travel and destination weddings overseas to save foreign exchange. Queries sent to the finance Ministry and the rBI did not elicit a response. according to sources, the discussions have also precipitated in an internal wrangling among sections of the top policymakers if these measures will unfold as envisaged and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E. exPlained Behind the worry On top of a foreign capital strike, depletion of forex reserves by $38 billion in two months has forced the government to not just conserve foreign exchange but also make Indian markets attractive for foreign capital. This will stabilise the capital account and prevent rupee fall. Iran listening, India says safe Hormuz key to economic health After summons, lookout notices, Kolkata DCP held BRICS Foreign Ministers meet PM; in extortion cases Araghchi says Iranians don’t seek war Ravik Bhattacharya Kolkata, May 14 afTer a marathon questioning for close to 11 hours, the enforcement Directorate (eD) on ThursdayeveningarrestedDeputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police Santanu Sinha Biswas in connectionwithafraudandextortion case, officials said. after having skipped four summons,whichhadledtothe eD issuing lookout notices against him, Biswas on Thursday morning reached the eD office in Salt lake. Nearly a month ago, on april 19, the enforcement Directorate (eD) had conducted raids at the residence of Biswas and other properties allegedly linked to him. “he (Biswas) didn’t cooperate during questioning in connection with the probe into alleged land grabbing, extortion, and financial irregularities linked to the Sona Pappu network. he repeatedly avoided givingdirectreplies…Basedon the material collected and his »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Reversal after industrialist hires one of Trump’s personal lawyers ENS Economic Bureau New Delhi, May 14 The New York Times reported Thursday that the uS DepartmentofJustice(DOJ)wasplanning to drop criminal charges againstadanigroupChairman gautam adani following discussions linked to a proposed $10-billion investment in the uS, a move that could bring an abrupt end to one of the most high-profile corporate fraud investigationsinvolvinganIndian business group in recent years. The reversal came after gautam adani hired a new legal team led by robert J giuffra Jr., one of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers and the co-chairman of the prominent firm Sullivan & Cromwell, according to the NYT. The criminal charges against adani stemmed from an indictment unveiled by uS prosecutorsinNovember2024. It accused adani, his nephew Sagaradaniandseveralassociates of orchestrating a massive bribery scheme involving approximately $265 million in payments to Indian government officials. The report said giuffra’s efforts on adani’s behalf culminatedinapreviouslyunreported meeting last month at the JusticeDepartment’sheadquarters in Washington. “giuffra ticked throughabout100slidesoutliningwhyprosecutorslackedbasic evidence, as well as the jurisdiction even to bring the case,” the report stated. “another slide also made an unusual offer: If prosecutors dropped the charges, adani would be willing to invest $10 billion in the american economy and create 15,000 jobs, echoing a pledge he had made in the wake of Trump’s election,” it stated. Theadanigroupdidnotrespond to an email from TheIndian express seeking its »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 nation uttaR PRadEsh stoRm toll RIsEs to 111 PaGE 9 Uphold law and order, HC tells Adhikari govt after Mamata argues in post-poll violence case external affairs minister s Jaishankar with Iranian Foreign minister seyed abbas araghchi in new delhi on Thursday. AP Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, May 14 uNDerlININg ThaT “stability cannot be selective, and peacecannotbepiecemeal”,external affairs Minister S Jaishankar told visiting foreign MinistersoftheBrICScountries Thursday that “safe and unimpeded maritime flows through international waterways, including the Strait of hormuz and red Sea, remain vital for global economic well-being”. his remarks at the New Delhi meeting of the grouping, where Iran counterpart Seyed abbas araghchi and uae Minister of State for foreign affairs Khalifa Shaheen al Marar were also present, came on the day Indiacondemnedtheattackon an Indian-flagged vessel off Oman,callingit“unacceptable” »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Talking Trade, Tehran, Taiwan Us President donald Trump with chinese President Xi Jinping at the start of a two-day summit in Beijing Thursday. Xi told Trump that trade talks were making progress, but cautioned that disagreement over Taiwan could send relations down a dangerous path and even lead to conflict. AP rePorT, Page 12 Rajasthan family at centre of leak HEARING CHALLENGE TO 2023 LAW ON PM-LED PANEL row saw 4 kids crack NEET last yr Why minister, why not a neutral person in panel to pick ECs: SC Hamza Khan Jamwa Ramgarh, May 14 “IT IS a matter of great pride for my family that five of our children have been selected for government medical college (MBBS).heartywishestoallthe children for a bright future,” readsaNovember6,2025,facebook post by Dinesh Biwal, a residentofJamwaramgarh,an hour from Jaipur. Tillabout7:40pmonThursday, CBI sleuths had spent over three hours at Dinesh's home, located in a large compound with lawns, stone apple trees and at least two cars, with a picturesque view of the aravallis. While CBI officials are tight- NYT: US set to drop charges against Adani after lawyer makes $10-bn offer Bench to AG: It will always be 2:1, executive controlling everything Ananthakrishnan G New Delhi, May 14 cBI officials outside the Biwal brothers’ residence in Jamwa ramgarh, rajasthan, on Thursday. HAMzA KHAN lipped,theBiwalfamilyisatthe centre of a storm following the NeeT2026paperleak.according to officials, it is alleged that Shubham Khairnar from Nashik, Maharashtra, shared the questionpaperwithYashYadav »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 STaTINg ThaT the election Commission of India must not only be independent but also appear to be so, the Supreme CourtThursdaywonderedwhy there can’t be an “independent member”inthethree-member panel that picks the election Commissioners (eCs) when even the committee for selecting the CBI Director has the inside PaGE 6 EC announCEs s.I.R. In 16 statEs and 3 uts Chief Justice of India in it. The bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and S C Sharma asked the Centre why put up a show of independence in the matter of selection of eCs by the committee, comprising the Prime Minister, the leader of Opposition and a Cabinet Minister, when the decision is by a 2:1 majority and the Cabinet Minister is a PM pick. “I was just wondering. for a CBI Director, the CJI is there — for maintenance of law and order or you can stretch it to rule of law also. But not for maintaining democracy? Not for ensuring a pure election? Wedon’tsaythattheCJIshould be there. Why shouldn’t there be an independent member?” Justice Datta said. “let us be very clear. Today, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Tmc chief mamata Banerjee at the calcutta high court, Thursday ENS & PTI Kolkata, May 14 The CalCuTTa high Court on Thursday directed the West Bengal government to "strictly maintain law and order at the groundlevel"inthewakeofTrinamool Congress's allegations of widespread post-poll violence in the state. The high Court also directed the police to ensure the safety of people who fled their homes,apprehendingpost-poll retribution violence, and arrange for their safe return, irrespective of party affiliations. a Bench comprising Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen passed the interim order following the hearing of a writ petition filed by TMC leader Sirsanya Bandyopadhyay,whoallegedwidespread violence against TMC workers and attacks on TMC party offices since May 4, after theparty’sdefeatintheassembly elections. Thebenchdirectedthestate to file affidavit within three weeks and granted a window of an additional two weeks to file anexceptiontoit,while keeping the question of maintainability of the TMC's PIl open. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l FoUr gIrls who were among The Faces oF The FIghT For The rIghT To wear hIJaB sPeak on karnaTaka’s reversal oF Ban, and how TheIr lIves have changed ‘Hijab doesn’t need politics or permission… we are happy for those after us’ Atiya firdos, Nikhila Henry & Kiran Parashar however, they hope, it will mean more — that other girls Bengaluru, hyderabad, who want to wear the hijab May 14 won’t have to make the choice between it and an education. ONCe TheY were schoolgirls. aliya assadi, one of the six Then, they became the face of students of government Prea fight they would rather not university College in udupi have fought. four long years whostoodhergroundover“the and several promises later, the right to wear hijab”, says the Karnataka government’s with- government’s reversal of the drawal of the order february 22 order is Page 1 that in 2022 effecan “acknowledgetively barred wearment” of this, even if ing of hijab in pre“delayed”. “hijab university colleges (Classes 11 requires neither politics, nor and 12) is a victory that holds permission nor public approlittle meaning for them. val. But I am happy that those anchor who come after me will be free to wear hijab in classrooms.” The hijab row had erupted in late 2021-early 2022 after the six protested over not being allowed to attend classes wearing the head scarf. The protests spread to other districts, and as right-wing hindu bodies launched a counter-agitation, therewascommunaltensionat several places. In february 2022,thethenBJPgovernment inthestatepassedanorderasking students to stick to prescribeduniformsinpre-university and degree colleges. Since hijab is not a part of the uni- The 2022 order barring hijab in classes had led to protests. FIlE form, it effectively ruled the head scarf out. On Wednesday, the Karna- taka government withdrew that order, allowing students to wear limited religious- or faith- based symbols along with the prescribed uniform. The fact that private preuniversity colleges allowed the hijab as part of their uniform meant that in the one year after the Karnataka government’s 2022 order, udupi district saw a significant shift of Muslim students from government to private colleges, admissions data accessedbyTheIndianexpress showed. for aliya, a h almas, resham farooq, all of udupi, and Muskan Khan of Mandya, too, life was not the same after february 2022. Kolkata A H Almas She was among the six studentswhoprotestedagainstthe udupigovernmentpre-university college restricting them from wearing hijab. In Class 12 at the time, she didn’t return to classafterthe2022government order, skipping the annual exams and losing a year. “finally I wrote an all-India open school examination to pass my Class 12 because no school would let me write the exam in hijab,” almas says. Now she is in the third year of a B.Sc degree, travelling 65 km to Dakshina Kannada district to college, and wants to become a physiotherapist. almas says because of her involvement in the hijab fight, gettingadmissioninudupiwas difficult. “every day that I go to college now, I thank god for giving me a chance to get an education. Several of my friends dropped out of school. Mostofthemdidadiplomaand ended their education. Some got married.” One overlooked aspect, the 22-year-old adds, is that the hijab restriction also affected Muslim teachers. “It's not just »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2