DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES SINCE 1932 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM FESTIVAL OF SAVINGS, SEASON OF JOY Utsav BY UNNY BY NEARLY ₹40,000 DELHI MINISTER SAYS AAP ‘FORCED’ PUNJAB FARMERS TO BURN STUBBLE Delhi air turns ‘very poor’ post Diwali, BJP and AAP set off political fireworks SC’s firecracker guidelines flouted across NCR; Minister Sirsa attacks Kejriwal for ‘defaming’ festival RITIKA CHOPRA Will strengthen ties with India: Taliban Defence Minister Yaqoob NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 Yaqoobisthe sonof Taliban founderlate MullahOmar The India Gate on Tuesday as dense smog engulfed Delhi and affected visibility a day after Diwali. Praveen Khanna NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 DISMISSING ISLAMABAD’S allegations of Indian involvement in theclashesbetweenAfghanistan and Pakistan, Taliban leader and DefenceMinisterMullahYaqoob has said Kabul will “strengthen” ties with New Delhi “within the framework of our national interests”. The son of Taliban founder the late Mullah Omar, Yaqoob was sent to Doha in Qatar last week by Taliban supreme leader HibatullahAkhundzadatonegotiate a ceasefire pact with Pakistan after deadly clashes. Once considered to be extremely close to Islamabad, Yaqoob’s remarks have not gone unnoticed in New Delhi. It came days after Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi travelled to New Delhi on a six-day visit, his first since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. WhileIndiaisstilltograntofficial recognition to Talibanruled Afghanistan, it has been providing humanitarian and development works assistance. On Tuesday, India announced upgrading its technical mission in Kabul to the status of an embassy. The Ministry of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DEVANSH MITTAL & SOPHIYA MATHEW NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 AS AIR pollution levels rose the dayafterDiwali,theDelhigovernment led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had “forced” farmersinPunjabtoburnstubble to foul the capital’s air. The24-houraverageairquality index (AQI) at 4 pm on Tuesday was 351 (very poor), up from 345 on Monday. At a press conference, Delhi EnvironmentMinisterManjinder MUKHYAMANTRI MAJHI LADKI BAHIN YOJANA Maharashtra: 12,431 men granted benefits under govt’s flagship scheme for women YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW E AN XPRESS RTI APPLICATION VALLABH OZARKAR MUMBAI, OCTOBER 21 DECISION 2025 BIHAR ● RJDandCongress firefight:Callsgoout, leadersdashasallies inrescuemode PAGE5 New scheme with ‘set-up grant’ to get top Indian faculty overseas to return Talent from 12-14 priority areas in STEM identified to attract talent INDIA UPGRADES MISSION IN KABUL SHUBHAJIT ROY MOVE AMID TRUMP ACTION ON U.S. VARSITIES THE MAHARASHTRA government has found that at least 12,431 men were granted benefits under its flagship MukhyamantriMajhiLadkiBahin Yojana — the scheme for women that gives Rs 1,500 every month tothoseaged21-65fromfamilies earning less than Rs 2.5 lakh annually,accordingtodataaccessed by The Indian Express under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Responding to RTI queries from this newspaper, the WomenandChildDevelopment (WCD) Department, which runs the scheme, stated that these The scheme grants `1,500 every month to women aged 21-65 from families earning below `2.5 lakh annually. Amit Chakravarty men have been removed from the list of beneficiaries, following verification, along with 77,980 women who were also identified as ineligible. Inall,theRTIresponseshows that 12,431 men and 77,980 womenwerewronglydisbursed CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE EDITORIAL PAGE LIGHT, NOT HEAT Diwali needs to be cleaner but framing 48-hour fireworks as fount of all toxins is wrong — in science and strategy PAGE6 Singh Sirsa showed pictures and videos of people with their faces covered, burning paddy stubble. “I want to show you how the Aam Aadmi Party [which rules Punjab] is deliberately forcing farmers to burn stubble in Punjab by covering their faces... Farmers have been forced to burn stubble by covering their faces, so that this can impact Delhi,” Sirsa said. “Diwali is not a BJP festival; it’saSanatanHindufestival.They (AAP)areouropposition,sothey canabuseus,butwhyinsultasacred tradition? The same party CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 7-member Lokpal floats tender for 7 BMW cars, raises eyebrows Anti-corruption ombudsman seeks bids by November 6 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 ANTI-CORRUPTION OMBUDSMAN Lokpal, currently a sevenmemberbodyheadedbyformer SupremeCourtjudgeJusticeAM Khanwilkar, has floated a tender for the procurement of seven BMW cars, raising eyebrows. “The Lokpal of India invites open tenders from reputed agencies for supply of seven BMW 3 series 330Li cars to the Lokpal of India,” stated the tender issued on October 16. The tender was floated for the ‘M Sport’ model with ‘long wheelbase’, and in white colour. The last date to submit the bids is November 6 and bidders will have to deposit earnest money of Rs 10 lakh. The bids will be opened the next day. The cars need to be delivered in“preferablytwoweeksbutnot later than 30 days from the date of issuing of the supply order”, it stated,addingthat“noextension of time will be given”. The Lokpal has seven members against a sanctioned strength of eight. Other than chairperson Justice Khanwilkar, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THEGOVERNMENTisworkingon a new scheme to attract Indianorigin “star faculty” and researcherssettledabroadtoreturn and work in Indian institutions. The discussions have gained momentum amid concerns over the Trump administration’s policies towards higher education in the United States, seen by critics as challenginguniversityautonomy and academic freedom. The Principal Scientific Adviser’s office has also convened meetings with the Departmentof HigherEducation in the Ministry of Education, the Department of Science and Technology (DST), and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to shape the contours of the initiative, The Indian Express E EXPLAINED BUSINESS AS USUAL TRACTORS ARE NOW CHEAPER CBC 15502/13/0038/2526 Bachat My farming now comes with savings What gets talent ● back? WHAT IS on offer in India to accomplished Indian scientists and researchers working overseas holds the key to any programme to get them back. Anchoring them with key institutions, an enabling ecosystem with access to resources such as ‘set-up grants’ are some of the aspects the government has recognised now. haslearnt.Theproposedscheme aims to bring back “established” Indian-origin scientists and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Hindi scholar at SOAS denied entry into India, sent back from Delhi ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND Francesca Orsini is professor emerita at SOAS NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 FRANCESCA ORSINI, a leading scholar of Hindi and professor emerita at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, was late Monday stopped from entering the country, and sent back from the Delhi airport, senior government officials said. An official in the Ministry of Home Affairs claimed “violation ofvisaconditions”duringherprevious visits as grounds for denying her entry into the country. While Orsini, who was on a flight back to London, was unavailable for comment, The Wire had earlier quoted her as saying that she was provided no reason for being stopped at the Delhi airport. “I am being deported. That is all I know,” she said. Orsini’s husband Peter CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Pan-India SIR on table, Its shrimp sector hit by US tariffs, poll panel to meet Chief Andhra eyes Australia for exports Electoral Officers today SREENIVAS JANYALA DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 THE ELECTION Commission is set to meet the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of States and UnionTerritoriesonWednesday to discuss preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, after which the Commission could take a call on the rollout of the exercise, it is learnt. Apartfromthepreparedness for the SIR, other administrative issues are also likely to be discussed, it is learnt. The meeting, to be held at the EC’s India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) at Dwarka on Wednesday afternoon, is the second such meeting in just over a month. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HYDERABAD, OCTOBER 21 ANDHRA PRADESH, where the shrimp industry has been hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, is looking to Australia as an alternative market. During a seven-day tour of the country, NLokeshNaidu,thestate’sITand HRD Minister and the son of CM N Chandrababu Naidu, said the Australiangovernmentmayease CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 x/ @naralokesh AndhraPradeshministerN Lokeshnaiduwithrepresentatives of SeafoodIndustryAustraliainParramattanearSydney As American chess star’s death sparks intrigue, Indian GM blames Russian hand PAGE 1 ANCHOR MAYANK NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 THE DEATH on Monday of New YorkTimescolumnistandeducator Daniel Naroditsky, who was once hailed as a chess prodigy while becoming a Grandmaster at 18, has sparked a buzz online. There is a growing refrain that the American GM, who was 29, was under severe stress after al- legations of cheating were levelled against him by former world champion Vladimir Kramnik. Now, a prominent Indian voice has joined the chorus. Indian GM Nihal Sarin, who was the last player Naroditsky faced on the popular online forumchess.com,squarelyblames Kramnikwhohadrepeatedlyaccused the American player of cheating while playing online — an allegation that Naroditsky had firmly denied. “He(Kramnik)haskindof literally taken a life,” Nihal told The Indian Express. The 21-year-old Indian is an expert at blitz chess, like Naroditsky, with both having played each other in over 2,000 games online. Recalling their final face-off on chess.com, Nihal said, “His lastgameswereagainstme.That day, we played a bit in the morning and then there were our last games at night. We were also talking about a few things. He said he was under immense stress due to a lot of baseless accusations—headedbyKramnik, of course. Apparently, unfortunately, quite a few others also Daniel Naroditsky was accused of cheating by Russian Grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik. AP seem to have joined in... I can totallyimaginethepainhewasgoing through and it has been going on for a very long time. I had thought he’s a very strong guy. I didn't think he would get affected so easily.” The Indian GM acknowledged Russian GM Kramnik's greatness as a chess player. “He’s a great player, a world champion... He gave a lot to chess. He's one of the greatest players of all time, without any doubt. But these days, the harm he's causing...,” he said. Nihal, too, was targeted with allegations of cheating in online games but was able to tide over the crisis. “Fortunately for me, myfriends,coaches,theyimmediately defended me. I had quite a bit of a support system. Unfortunately, Naroditsky was not having that... I was aware that I had some really good results. I was kind of waiting for it. I knew Kramnik would come after me someday,” he said. Nihal also said there should be zero tolerance when it comes to “cheating” but there was a wayof dealingwiththeproblem. “Cheating in chess is a huge problem. But what Kramnik doesiscompletelyunacceptable. He just blurts out accusations every day... He was a world champion, a very influential figure after all. And I don't know if herealisestheimpactitcanhave on innocent people. Kramnik's methods, it seems like, you burn down a city to catch some cheaters, basically. You kill some thousand other completely innocent guys to get one or two guys,” he said. The Charlotte Chess Center in North Carolina, where CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata