DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM CBC 15502/13/0030/2526 SINCE 1932 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY TO KEEP MARKET SHARE, GOVT SUPPORT CRITICAL: EXPORTERS Feeling US tariff pain, exporters ask for relief; Centre in wait-and-watch mode Economic ministries seek relief but, like during Covid, there’s discussion on reforms over handout RAVI DUTTA MISHRA & ANIL SASI EXPRESS NETWORK MURDER CHARGE IN ZUBEEN GARG DEATH CASE PAGE 9 NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 2 POSTUStariffs,theCentre’smessage to exporters has been to try andholdontotheirmarketshare in the US. Two key economic ministries — finance and commerce — met exporters across key affected sectors, and suggested relief measures similar to those put in place during Covid, to tide over the current crisis. But no succour has been forthcomingwithweekspassing bysincethereciprocaltariffsand secondary tariffs kicked in, and exporters are now beginning to feel the pain. Sources in the economicministriessaidlettersand enquiriesfromexportershaveresultedinincreaseddiscomfiture. Having led the talks with exporters and promised interventiontomeettheircashflow,ministriesarefindingthemselvesina piquant situation. The sources said delibera- INDIA’S EXPORTS TO U.S. 2024-25: SECTORS HIT Product group Exports Textiles and apparel Diamonds, gold and jewellery Machinery and mechanical appliances Agriculture, meat and processed food Steel, aluminium, copper Organic chemicals Shrimps Leather and footwear $ 10.9 bn $ 10 bn $ 6.7 bn $ 6 bn $ 4.7 bn $ 2.7 bn $ 2.4 bn $ 1.2 bn Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry, GTRI analysis; All these goods attract 50% US tariffs tions at the highest levels over relief measures have not made muchheadwaysinceunknowns suchas the end dateforsopsand concessions, make it difficult to announce an open-ended package. Further, the Covid experience suggested that while other countriesexpandedthefiscgenerously,Indiawasmorecautious and it helped the government. “The government did provide free foodgrains during Covid; but the larger focus then CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 After 5 yrs, India-China direct flights to resume this month, IndiGo to start with Guangzhou SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 2 WITH THE Ministry of External Affairs announcing that direct flights between India and mainland China can start from late October, India’s largest airline IndiGo said it will start daily flights to Guangzhou from Kolkata from October 26, and follow up with flights between Delhi and Guangzhou. According to sources, Air India is also planning to launch direct flights between Delhi and Shanghai before the end of the year although the airline is yet to make an official announcement. IndiGo and Air India were the only Indian carriers operating THE WORLD these flights before Covid. With the exception of Hong Kong, a Chinese special administrative region, India and China havehadnodirectairconnectivity since early 2020, just before Covidwasdeclaredaglobalpandemic. Although initially suspended due to the pandemic, it did not resume thereafter as the bilateral relationship soured following the border standoff in Eastern Ladakh in 2020. This led to high airfares and long travel times as those flying between the two countries had to take connecting flights from hubs in Southeast Asia. According to industry insiders, Chinese and Indian airlines have been looking to restart direct Former President Ram Nath Kovind with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the annual Vijayadashami rally in Nagpur on Thursday. Deepak Joshi Everyone has own beliefs… be careful not to disrespect: RSS chief Bhagwat Warns against ‘show of strength’ to ‘provoke a particular community’ ANKITA DESHKAR & DEEPTIMAN TIWARY NAGPUR, NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 2 DRAWINGFROMtheexperience of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh over its 100-year journey, its chief Mohan Bhagwat placed communal harmony and social responsibility at the heart of his visionforIndia.Heurgedcitizens to recognise their shared identity as a nation and to conduct themselves with respect, restraint, and vigilance in preserving societal unity. REMEMBERING THE MAHATMA “Samaj, desh, sanskriti tatha rashtra ke nate hum ek hain. Yeh hamari badi pehchaan hamare liye sarvopari hai yeh humko sadaiv dhyaan mein rakhna chahiye. Uske chalte samaj mein sabka aapas ka vyavahaar sadbhavana-purn aur sanyampurn rehna chahiye. Sab ki apni-apni shraddhaen, mahapurush, tatha pooja ke sthan hote hain. Man, vachan, karm se aapas mein inki avamana na ho iska dhyaan CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 KOVIND RECALLS VAJPAYEE PAGE 5 President Droupadi Murmu pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary, at Rajghat on Thursday. Anil Sharma There’s a wholesale In a first, Taliban foreign ‘Road to Karachi goes through attack on democratic minister to visit Delhi Sir Creek’: Rajnath slams Pak system of India, says after UNSC’s go-ahead Rahul in Colombia CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE SHUBHAJIT ROY ISRAEL SEIZES NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 2 FLOTILLA CARRYING GAZA AID, SPARKS IN A historic first, Taliban-ruled PROTESTS GLOBALLY Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is set to visit U.S. SHUTDOWN: India. The UN Security Council FUNDS FROZEN FOR hasallowedhimtotraveltoNew DEMOCRATIC STATES Delhi from October 9 to 16. PAGE 11 GUJARAT ON ASHOK VIJAYADASHAMI, 120 DALITS CONVERT TO BUDDHISM PAGE 3 The approval of the UNSC committee, currently chaired by non-permanent member Pakistan, was granted September 30, and it was made official Thursday. Since Muttaqi is on the list of sanctioned individuals — applicable to Taliban leaders — under the UNSC Resolution1988(2011),heneeds AHMEDABAD, OCTOBER 2 Amir Khan Muttaqi the approval. This is the first time that a Taliban Foreign Minister is travelling to New Delhi. There is no official word yet from the Ministry of External Affairs on his visit. The visit was being planned in September, but the UNSC committee did not grant him approval earlier. While India is still to grant CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE ROAD to Karachi goes through Sir Creek, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday, in an apparent warning to Pakistan against any “misadventure” across the border in Gujarat. “Let us remember that in the 1965 war, the Indian Army had reached Lahore. And in 2025, Pakistan should remember that the road to Karachi goes through Sir Creek,” Singh said while speakingtoseniormilitarycommanders at the Lakki Nala MilitaryGarrisoninthelargerSir Creek area of Kutch district. The Defence Minister issued Insulting India on foreign soil, says BJP ASAD REHMAN NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 2 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh performs shastra pooja at Bhuj Military Station on Thursday. PTI the warning in context of military infrastructure being set up by Pakistan along the Sir Creek CONTINUEDONPAGE2 FLAGGING INDIA’S “multiple religions, multiple traditions, multiple languages” and describing the country as “a conversation between all its people”, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said Thursdaythatthe“singlebiggest risk” to India was “the attack on democracy” and that “a wholesale attack” on its democratic system was underway. Inremarksduringaninteraction with students at the EIA ‘We are not arrogant enough to believe we should lead the world’ University in Envigado in Colombia,Gandhisaidhedidnot think India was “arrogant enough” to “see itself as taking leadership in the world” and the country rather believed in “having a partnership”. His remarks drew a sharp CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Fixing prosthetic blade, wheelchair brake: Inside workshop at Para meet PAGE 1 ANCHOR PRITISH RAJ NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 2 WHEN PARA athlete Hamza Gulec broke the adapter in his prosthetic running blade while practising on the warm-up track onMondayevening,rightbefore hiscompetition,twotechnicians ran in with their tools from the white hangar nearby. Minutes later, the blade was fixed, much to the Turkish long jumper's relief.Gulec,adoublelegamputee, went on to jump a new personal best, setting a championship record at 6.63 m in the T61 category of the men's long jump at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi. “It is rare that a jumping blade has such an issue right before the event but when it happens, it can hamper the mindset of theathlete.Theideaistomake surethatparaathletesdon'thave toworryaboutlast-minutewear and tear,” says Heinrich Popow, 2012 Paralympic gold medallist sprinter and now a technical contractor with German company Ottobock. At the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,thevenueof thechampionship, is Ottobock's workshop, called the technical service area. At all times, the workshop has 10 qualified technicians led by Popow, who are ready to repair the equipment used by para athletes — from running and jumping blades to wheelchairs, wheelchair-racing bikes and walking prosthetics. With 1,200 para athletes from104countriesparticipating in the competition, the technical serviceareaismostbusyjustbefore a competition or immediately after it ends. “Right before the morning and evening sessions, our hands A wheelchair being repaired before the competition on Thursday. Express arefullwithrequests.Wealsorepair equipment which we receive in advance from athletes,” says Smruti Ranjan Nayak, one of the Indian technicians working with Ottobock. At the workshop is an entire section of spare parts, which is stockedwithadaptersforblades, brakes for wheelchair racing bikes, wheels for wheelchairs, and silicon in-liners to fix the blade. “Usually, the athletes come up with basic requests — a loose screw in the blade or a patchy sole that may hamper their stride. Most of our time is spent fixing the smaller issues. We have our team ready at the final call room in case an incident like Gulec's happens,” says Popow. Theteamof technicianswork in different shifts to ensure that both the sessions are covered and nothing is missed. “We have more than 10 technicians working in both the sessions and the turnaroundtimeisquickenough tonotletanyonegoontrackwith faulty equipment,” says Popow. The German company, which operates in the field of orthopedic technology, has been associated with the Paralympics since 1988 and provides its services and equipment free of cost to the para athletes. The easiest equipment to fix, says Popow, are the blades. “They usually don't have many issues but it becomes a problem when there is a broken blade. It can'tberepaired.Inthatcase,we just replace it for free.” However, wheelchair racing bikes can be tricky. “In case of a flat tyre on the bike, it is not an issuebutitbecomesalittletricky when there is a faulty braking system or a broken handle,” says Nayak. “Athletes use different bikes – Honda, BMW and many more. All of these bikes have different brakingsystems,somehaveside CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad