The Editorial Page: SHANTI Bill is India’s second shot at nuclear energy leadership 10 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2025 Journalism of Courage MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 20 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 REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 Happening today lIN A dedicated commercial mission, ISRO is scheduled to launch the Bluebird Block-2 spacecraft on board its heavy lift launch vehicle LVM3-M6 at 8.54 am. lWITH 50-OVER cricket their SC accepted govt’s 100-m Aravalli rule, its own panel had opposed it only focus now, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are set to make a rare appearance in the domestic circuit, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy which begins today. FSI’s 3-degree definition covers lower hills of Aravallis that are excluded by the ministry’s 100-metre yardstick TRACk THESE AND MORE ON WWW.INDIANExPRESS.COM New Delhi, December 23 Business as Usual By EP UNNY DIREcTS uRgENT DAILY HEARINgS Sc PANEL BAcKED FOREST SuRVEY’S BENcHMARK TO PROTEcT ARAVALLIS Jay Mazoomdaar ONOCTOBER13,theMinistryof Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) proposed a new 100-metre definitionforAravallistotheSupreme Court. The very next day, the apexcourt’sCentralEmpowered Committee (CEC) wrote to the amicus curiae assisting the lAmicusmaptocourt:Zonebetweengreenand bluewouldloseprotectionunder100-mnorm Sikar district, Rajasthan benchthattheydidnotexamine or approve the recommendation. On November 20, the Supreme Court accepted the 100metre recommendation of the ministry. The CEC is a body set up by the SC in 2002 to monitor and ensurecomplianceofitsorders relatedtoenvironmentandforests. Aravalli foothill contour Aravalli boundary In its October 14 letter reviewed by The Indian Express, the CEC underlined that the definition formulated by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) should be “adopted in order to ensure the protection and conservation of the ecology of the Aravalli Hills and its range.” The FSI had mapped 40,481 sq km as Aravallis in 15 districts of Rajasthan as areas above the minimum elevation with a slope of at least 3 degrees. By this definition, even the lower hillswouldbeprotectedasAravallis. The FSI undertook the exercise after it was engaged by »cONTINuED ON PAgE 2 Raut says Uddhav-Raj Delhi, Dhaka summon envoys ties for civic polls will as protests on both sides test ties be announced today Divya A 24/12/2025 113 141 175 94 Alok Deshpande Mumbai, December 23 DAYS AFTER uncertainty, the formalannouncementofanalliance between the Uddhav Thackeray-ledShivSena(UBT) andRajThackeray’sMaharashtraNavnirmanSena(MNS)will be made on Wednesday, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said Tuesday. On social media platform X, he also shared a photographoftheformerlyestranged cousins greeting each other. This would mean that for the first time since 2006, when Raj stepped away from the undivided Shiv Sena and formed the MNS, the two Thackerays will engage in the upcoming civic elections as a team. »cONTINuED ON PAgE 2 New Delhi, December 23 AS ESCALATING tensions in Bangladesh following the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi and protests in IndiaoverthekillingofaHindu youth across the border continued to test bilateral ties, Delhi and Dhaka summoned eachother’senvoysonTuesday in a tit-for-tat move to express »cONTINuED ON PAgE 2 Court rejects UP plea to withdraw charges against accused in Akhlaq murder case Neetika Jha Greater Noida, December 23 A COURT in Surajpur on Tuesday rejected the Uttar Pradesh government’spleatowithdraw all charges against the accused inthe2015lynchingofMohammad Akhlaq, and instead fasttrackedthetrial,directingdaily hearings. “The prayer of the prosecutionisrejected,”AdditionalDistrict Judge Saurabh Dwivedi said in his order. He directed that the case be categorised as “most important” and be heard on a daily basis. The court also directed the prosecution to record the evidence in the case at the earliest. “AletterbesenttothePolice Commissioner of Gautam Buddh Nagar/ D C P Greater Noida to ensure that all evidence be provided at the earliest with full safety and secur- ity,” the order said. The case will be heard next on January 6. Akhlaq (50) was beaten to death by a mob over rumours that he had killed a cow and stored the meat in his home in BisadavillageinDadri,Gautam Buddh Nagar district. On October 15, the UP government had moved an applicationtowithdrawprosecution in the case, citing reasons that ranged from allegedly inconsistent statements made by Akhlaq’s kin in naming the accused and the fact that no firearmsorsharpweaponswererecovered from the accused, to theabsenceofpreviousenmity or hostility between the accused and the victim. The prosecution said that whileAkhlaq’swifeIkraman,in her statement, had put the number of accused at 10, Akhlaq’s daughter Shaistha »cONTINuED ON PAgE 2 THE BIG PICTURE ONE LONg NIght IN gOA Police personnel stop protesters near the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday. PRAVEEN KHANNA PAgE 13 LARGE, MID YA SMALL? MULTI CAP FUND IS FOR ALL! Scan to learn more about Multi Cap Funds Zindagi ke liye SIP An open-ended equity scheme investing across large cap, mid cap & small cap stocks Exposure across many sectors/industries Suitable for long-term investors An Investor Education and Awareness Initiative SIP - Systematic Investment Plan | Visit https://www.hdfcfund.com/information/key-know-how to know more about the process to complete a one-time Know Your Customer (KYC) requirement to invest in Mutual Funds. Investors should only deal with registered Mutual Funds, details of which can be verified on the SEBI website (www.sebi.gov.in/intermediaries.html). For any queries, complaints & grievance redressal, investors may reach out to the AMCs and / or Investor Relations Officers. Additionally, investors may also lodge complaints directly with the AMCs. If they are not satisfied with the resolutions given by AMCs, they may raise complaint through the SCORES portal on https://scores.sebi.gov.in/. SCORES portal facilitates investors to lodge complaint online with SEBI and subsequently view its status. In case the investor is not satisfied with the resolution of the complaints raised directly with the AMCs or through the SCORES portal, they may file any complaint on the Smart ODR on https://smartodr.in/login. For more information contact MFD/RIA | Learn about SIPs: hdfcfund.com/sip Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully. Mumbai