The ideas Page: measuring manufacturing growth afresh — three questions 7 MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2026 JouRNAlism of CouRAge ahMEDaBaD, latE CIty, 16 PaGES ₹5.00 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 lCommerCe and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead a business delegation to Japan for a four-day visit to boost trade and investment ties. Japan last year set an investment target of 10 trillion yen (about Rs 60,000 cr) in India over a decade. lthe natIonal seCurIty Strategies Conference begins in New Delhi. More than 850 officers from various security and police forces are expected to deliberate on contemporary issues and challenges related to national security. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com Business as usual By EP UNNY InCIdent that led to IndIa-Canada dIPlomatIC FIrestorm natIonal hortICulture Board 3 years after Nijjar’s killing, tape out: Terrorist Brar claims ‘we had to do it’ After Minister, Secy’s kin availed of agri subsidy scheme, new rules bar them Brar claims he and his associates killed separatist who used minors to push drugs express news service New Delhi, August 23 THREE YEARS after the killing ofKhalistanseparatistHardeep Singh Nijjar triggered India’s worst diplomatic row with Canada after Delhi rejected Ottawa’s allegation of involvement, an audio clip has surfaced on social media in whichfugitivegangster-turnedterrorist Goldy Brar has purportedlyclaimedresponsibility for Nijjar’s death. Brar,whoserealnameisSatinderjeetSinghandwhoisfrom faridkot in Punjab, is purportedlyheardintheaudioclip — its authenticity could not be independently verified — speaking to Khalistan terrorist Paramjit Singh Pamma. Brar claims that Nijjar was killedbyhimandhisassociates because he had been using young people to sell drugs. “Those who groomed and incited 16-to-17-year-olds to sell drugs... those who blackmailed gangster-turned-terrorist goldy brar; (right) hardeep singh nijjar was shot dead in surrey, british columbia, on June 18, 2023 youngpeopleintosellingdrugs and becoming informants… Nijjar supported and strengthenedtheseindividuals sothathecouldusethemwhen necessary... that’s why we had to take this step,” he said. “Everyone has to face the consequences of their actions,” Brar said. The development comes a monthafterthefederalBureau of Investigation (fBI) announced a reward up to $50,000 for information leadingtoBrar’sarrest.Heiswanted for his alleged links to the Lawrence Bishnoi organised crime group, which was targeted under Operation Hard Ball. A Canadian citizen, Nijjar was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia,onJune18,2023.Hiskilling triggeredadiplomaticrowafter the then Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, alleged that Canadian authorities had credible evidence linking Indian government officials to the killing. Delhi rejected the allegation, calling it “absurd” and “motivated” and maintained it had no involvement in the »ContInued on PaGe 2 Doval heads to Beijing, boundary talks with Wang Yi tomorrow tHe world Page 13 NSA visit comes ahead of BRICS summit in Delhi next month shubhajit roy New Delhi, August 23 u.s. memoranDum Best PatH out of war, says Iran’s PezesHkIan BanglaDesH oPen to joInIng sauDIPak-turkey PaCt, say mInIsters explained Page 12 fIve years on, How InDIa Has warmeD uP to tHe talIBan AHEAD Of a possible visit by ChinesePresidentXiJinpingto India for the summit of the BRICS leaders next month, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is travelling to Beijing Monday for Special Representative-level talks on the boundary issue with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. The 25th round of SR-level talkswillbeheldTuesday.Both Doval and Wang are the designated SRs for the boundary talksmechanismwhichwasestablished in 2003 to comprehensively address the longstanding boundary dispute between the two countries. In the last week of June, Wang visited India for a meeting of the BRICS NSAs and met nsa ajit doval is india’s special representative for boundary talks with china Doval on the sidelines. Wang, who is also China’s foreign Minister, underlined it is “imperative”forIndiaandChinato respecteachother’s“coreinterests” and take concrete actions to implement the “important consensus” reached by both sides. Thetwocountrieshavebeen movingtorepairtiesthatplummeted after the military standoffalongtheLineofActualControl (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Sincelate2024,bothsideshave taken steps to ease tensions. After he met Wang in New Delhi last year, Doval said the India-China border had been »ContInued on PaGe 2 express Mumbai, August 23 STARTED IN Mumbai’s Tirupati Apartments 25 years ago, VfS Global is now a world leader in visa outsourcing services.The$1.2-billioncompany handles nearly 30 million visa applications a year across 168 countries. It navigates a world where mobility, security and technology are increasingly intertwined. In an interview with The Indian Express, VfS Global founder and CEO Zubin Karkaria, who is also a Parsi priest, interview ZuBIn karkarIa CEo of vfS GloBal spoke about the company’s push into citizen services, AI In a new era of mass global travel, is the visa infrastructure equipped to handle the surge? See,everybodyisnottravelling at the same time. Even if there is a huge demand, every country has its own consulate, its own visa offices and different seasons. They can manage. »ContInued on PaGe 2 harikishan sharma The Express report on cucumber farm subsidies dated June 27 New Delhi, August 23 ALMOSTTWOmonthsafteran investigationbyTheIndianExpressrevealedaUnionMinister and a serving Central government secretary’s kin availing subsidy for their cucumber farms,theCentrehasamended the ‘Scheme Guidelines of Commercial Horticulture and Cold Storage Schemes’ of the National Horticulture Board (NHB).Ithasrevisedthedefinition of ‘family’ — bringing withinitsambitthesubsidyapplicant's spouse, father, mother, sons and daughters — andhasmadeholdersofconstitutional posts, serving ministers, MPs, MLAs, mayors, district panchayat chiefs and government employees ineligible for financial assistance under NHB schemes. The NHB, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Agriculture and farmers Welfare, amended the scheme guidelines on August 21. “With a view to rationalise l thenewguidelines Family is now defined as applicant’s spouse, father, mother, sons and daughters Five categories not eligible: 1. Present holders of Constitutional posts; 2. Ministers, MoS, MPs, Mlas, MlCs, Mayors, chairpersons of district panchayats; 3. Serving employees of Central/State govt, ministries/ departments, PSus, autonomous bodies and local bodies, except MtS/CIass-Iv/Group-D staff; 4. Retired pensioners receiving monthly pension of Rs 10,000 or more, excluding MtS/Class-Iv/ Group-D employees; 5. Group of farmers E. subsidy reduced from 50% to 35% in general areas. Maximum subsidy for cold storage capped at rs 2 crore »ContInued on PaGe 2 Devdutt’s back-to-back tons devdutt Padikkal celebrates his century on the first day of the second Test match between india and sri lanka, in colombo, sunday. in the first Test at galle, Padikkal had slammed 167 in the first innings, followed by 44 in the second innings. PtI ‘Rise in inequality since labour is in surplus, capital in shortage. Need to democratise access to capital’ neelkanth mIshra ExECutIvE DIRECtoR, WoRlD BaNk GRouP Page 8 ContInuInG hIs suBlIme form, Padikkal brought up his ton in 168 deliveries in an innings which had 10 fours droPPed twICe By the lankan fielders, he made them pay with an extraordinary 117, steadying India’s innings Licence to passport, VFS Global will 22 sailors of vessel that soon introduce citizen services: CEO sank off Odisha still missing, search ops on George mathew and also about its listing plans. Dubai-basedKarkariasaystechnology can make the system moreefficientandcheckfrauds without replacing human decision-making. Excerpts: Ministers, MPs, MLAs, officers no longer eligible; definition of family changed Two rescued crew Chinese nationals, says Coast Guard sujit Bisoyi Bhubaneswar, August 23 THEINDIANCoastGuardalong with the Eastern Naval Command and other agencies have launched an intensive search and rescue operation to trace 22 crew members, who have been missing since Saturday after a Panama-flaggedcargoshipsank in the Bay of Bengal. Meanwhile, the two crew members who were rescued were identified as Chinese nationals. MV Ocean Winner sank around230nauticalmilesfrom theParadipcoastofOdishalate on Saturday. Coast Guard officials said at least three ships were conducting surface searches for 22 missing seafarers. The Eastern »ContInued on PaGe 2 IndIa were 300 for five at stumps on the opening day of the second test at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground Page 15 Hardlook Page 4 Ex-bureaucrat, former diplomat, BCG India chairman on RBI board ens economic Bureau Mumbai, August 23 How vaDoDara Plot Put vmC In an auCtIon ‘fIx’ nation Page 10 CBI Books ex-DgCa offICIal, four avIatIon fIrms In CorruPtIon Case THE GOVERNMENT has appointed former finance Ministry official Annie George Mathew, economist and management consultant Janmejaya Kumar Sinha and former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin as part-time, non-official directors on Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s Central Board. According to an order issued Saturday by the Department of Personnel and Training, the appointments, approvedbytheAppointments CommitteeoftheCabinet,"will take effect from the date of notification and will continue for four years or until further orders, whichever is earlier." The appointments will add diverseexpertise—frompublic finance to economics, corporate strategy and international diplomacy — to the RBI Board, which plays an important role inoverseeingthecentralbank’s functioning and advising on mattersrelatingtomonetary,financial, and economic policy. Mathew, 62, is a former SpecialSecretaryintheDepartment of Expenditure, Ministry of finance, and is currently a full-time member of the Sixteenth finance Commission. An officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, she has more than three decades of experience in public finance, »ContInued on PaGe 2 l he soughT Transfer To a Tribal school from The school in his home village From 6 classrooms to 2-storey school with studio, VR lab: A Navsari teacher’s journey ritusharma walls adorned with portraits of freedomfighters.Inthe10years that Pathak spent there, the NITINKUMAR MAHENDRA- school has transformed into a KUMAR Pathak was, since double-storeyedbuildingwitha 2007, teaching at Kadoli Gov- play area, a garden, the centreernment Primary School in Ja- piece being a studio where stulalpore of Navsari district, dents record “news bulletins.” barely five km from his house. Pathak, now 39, is the only In 2015, as a 28-year-old, he did primary school teacher shortwhatfewteacherswoulddo.He listed from Gujarat for the nasought a transfer to a tional award by the page 1 tribal school in Ministry of EducaRangpur village of tion ahead of Vansda taluka, 72 Teachers' Day on km away in the same district of September 5. South Gujarat. “I worked in an urban area Theschoolwaslikeanytypi- for seven years but wanted to cal village school, located on a work in a tribal area. Rangpur hillock-asingle-storeybuilding Government Primary School with a terracotta tiled roof, the was a remote school where Ahmedabad, August 23 anchor nitinkumar mahendrakumar Pathak with his students; the scool now (top right) and then. ExPRESS hardly anyone visited. Today, the Rangpur Government Primary School has emerged as a centre of educational innovation, attracting 2,900 teachers, officers, professors, and educationists from across the state during the past five years. Visitors have not only appreciated theschool'sinnovativepractices but have also adopted and replicated many of its initiatives in their own institutions,” Pathak told TheIndianExpress. Inavillagewithapopulation of 1982, the school has 274 children enrolled in schools, fromthe171thatwerein2015.Of these,180arefromRangpurvillage, the rest from villages around it. Over the years, the Ahmedabad schoolhasgrownfromsixrooms to eleven rooms with support from donations totaling Rs 1,48,76,724 received through “public participation”. In the current academic session it enrolled 14 students from private schools which is the highest in the decade that has seen a total of 71 students migrate to the Rangpur government school. Vansda, which is a tribal taluka has less than a dozen privateschoolsofwhichtwoclosed down, says Pathak, a social science teacher and in-charge headmaster of the Rangpur school. Pathak’s ten-year-old son too studied in the same school from Class I till IV before enrolling in the Jawahar Navo- dayaVidyalaya,Vansdathisyear in Class V. His wife, Dipika , also a government primary school teacher in Vansda is elated by declarationoftheaward.“Itisall possible because of the hard work and combined efforts of Nitinkumar, school staff, studentsandthevillagers,”shesays. To curb dropout rate, the school produced a film on the importance of education which was shared by then Education MinisterKuberDindoronhisofficial platform. Dindor gave the schoolthetitle:TheNextGeneration Government School. Located on a hilly, rocky terrain, the school staff overcame thechallengetoplanttrees,and »ContInued on PaGe 2