The Editorial Page: Attacks on energy infra bring war closer home 6 FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 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 MINISTRyto release February production data for India’s 8 core industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, cement, steel and electricity. In January, production was up 4% year-on-year. TRAcK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm NATION TARGETS HUBS IN QATAR, SAUDI ARABIA, KUWAIT, UAE, ISRAEL Iran strikes Gulf energy facilities, shock waves hit global economy Market tanks over 3% as crude surges, HDFC Bank tumbles Israel will not attack Iranian gas field again, says Trump Jon Gambrell, David Rising, Mike Corder & Natalie Melzer First time, rupee breaches the 93-mark IRAN INTENSIFIED its attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf Thursday, raising the stakes in a war that issendingshockwavesthrough the global economy. Thestrikes,inretaliationfor an Israeli attack on South Pars, a key Iranian gas field, sent fuel pricessoaringandriskeddrawing Iran’s Arab neighbours directly into the conflict. Underscoring the danger to ships in the region, a vessel was set ablaze off the coast of the UAE and another damaged off Qatar. Efforts to bypass the Strait of Hormuz were also under pressure: An Iranian drone hit a Saudi refinery on the Red Sea, which the country hadbeenhopingtouseasanalternative exit route. Brent crude oil, the international standard, briefly surged above $119 a barrel, up more than 60% since Israel and the US started the war. The European benchmark for natural THE BENCHMARK stock indices crashed over 3% Thursday to their lowest levels since February 16, 2024 as the war in West Asia escalated, sending crude prices above $110 a barrel. With this, the benchmark indiceswashedoutthenear3% Akash Mandal Dubai, March 19 mUSt bEcomE SELf-rELIANt IN mAkING droNES: rAjNAth PAGE 11 sPOrT bhUbANESwAr to hoSt 2028 worLd INdoor AthLEtIcS PAGE 15 business as Usual By EP UNNY »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Mumbai, March 19 gain they had notched up over the last three days. Thiswasthesteepestsingleday fall for the market since June 4, 2024 when voting trends during the Lok Sabha elections had shown an unexpectedlynarrowwinfortheBJP. Shares of HDFC Bank crashed after its chairman only clothes on their backs Purnima Sah Mumbai, March 19 Iranian missiles targeted Israel’s Haifa oil refinery, Thursday. REUTERS; RAS LAFFAN ATTAcK DEEpENS INDIA’S WORRIES OVER LNG, ExPLAINEd, PAGE 12 EIGHT INDIAN seafarers who survivedtheMarch1missileattack on the oil tanker Skylight near Oman’s Khasab port returnedtoMumbaiaround1pm Wednesday, but now face uncertainty over documentation, compensation and their journey back home. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l INDIA:sTrIkEs uNAccEPTAblE Amid concerns following attacks on West Asian gas hubs, India Thursday said the strikes are “unacceptable and need to cease”. PM Narendra Modi spoke to leaders of Qatar, Oman, France, Jordan and Malaysia, calling for urgent restoration of peace. p10 Panel to advise govt; amendments expand definition of ‘aggrieved persons’ to those residing in the area, instead of just seller and buyer of property THE GUJARAT government has proposed amendments to theDisturbedAreasActof1991, to include the appointment of a Monitoring and Advisory committee that would advise thegovernmentaboutanarea's potential for communal disturbance, leading to “involun- tary displacement” of its residents. The amendments also expand the definition of “aggrievedpersons”tothoseresiding in the area, instead of just the seller and buyer of immovable property, and replaces “disturbed area” with “specified area”. The amendment Bill is expected to be tabled next week, during the ongoing Budget Session of the Assembly. The Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act, formally known as the Gujarat Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provision for Protection of Tenants from Eviction Act, was introducedtopreventdistresssaleof property during communal tension or riots. In 2020, the Gujarat High Shunted out, had to plead for LS seat: Bordoloi on why he quit Cong ExPrEss Liz Mathew interview New Delhi, March 19 PRADYUTBORDOLOIisoneof the most high-profile political leaderstohaveswitchedparties in Assam in this election season. A day after he joined the BJP, the veteran Congress leader and Nagaon MP was fieldedfromtheDispurAssembly constituency Thursday. In an interview with PRADyUT BORDOLOI BJP CANDIDATE FROM DISPUR The Indian Express, Bordoloi spoke about why he resigned from the Congress. Excerpts: Your first election contest was from the Margherita Assembly seat in Tinsukia in 1998 on a Congress ticket. Why did you end your long association with the party? MyassociationwiththeCongress is longer. I was 16 when I »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Courtstayedamendmentsproposed by the state government that would have expanded the Act’s scope. These amendments proposed tightening of propertytransferrestrictionsin areas deemed “communally sensitive”, and enhanced the District Collector's powers to prevent property transfers between religious communities, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INsIDE PAGES 11, 4 dorAISwAmI to bE INdIA’S NEw ENvoy to chINA GUjArAt: fAkE cUrrENcy bUStEd; ‘GodmAN’, SIx othErS hELd l VIcE ADMIRAL WRITES TO SpORTS SEcRETARY; BOXING FEDERATION OF INDIA DEFENDS pROcESS Top Navy officer takes a jab at selection of Army boxers for Asian Championships Shashank Nair from Rajasthan, not from the defenceservices.TheNavy’sHiteshGulialostouttotheArmy’s A SENIOR Navy officer has Deepak in the 70-kg category. questioned the selection of an In a letter to Secretary ArmyboxerovertheNavy’spu- (Sports)HariRanjanRao,aVice gilist in the Indian Admiral in charge of PAGE 1 squad for the uppersonnel-related coming Asian matters has alleged Championships in that the selection Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. committee appointed by the The 10-member squad for Boxing Federation of India the March 28-April 11 Asian (BFI) had two members from meet includes nine Army the “same organisation whose boxers — the tenth is a boxer athletes were competing for se- George Mathew & Siddharth Upasani Mumbai, New Delhi, March 19 A DAY after HDFC Bank parttime chairman Atanu Chakraborty quit, the bank’s interim chairman Keki Mistry Thursday said there had been no powerstrugglewithinthebank, Interim chairman Keki Mistry and no discussion regarding governancewithintheboardof directors. Stating that the board was united,Mistrysaidithadnotwitnessed “any kind of complete difference in opinion” in its »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 For not invoking UP ‘It feels like a second birth’: anti-conversion law, 2 Eight seafarers return with Noida cops suspended Gujarat proposes changes, increases scope to areas ‘likely to become prone to violence’ Ahmedabad, March 19 RBI: No concerns on governance or conduct, board professionally-run »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DISTURBED AREAS ACT Ritu Sharma No power struggle or governance issue: HDFC Bank’s Mistry after Chairman quits New Delhi, March 19 anchor Hitesh Gulia will not be travelling to the Asian Boxing meet later this month. BFI lection”, thus raising concerns about “conflict of interest” and “perceived lack of neutrality”. The letter states that Gulia had got the better of Deepak at lastyear’sInter-ServicesChampionshipaswellasthe2026Nationals. “Despite this demonstrated superiority and international medal record, Gulia has been placed below Deepak,” writes the Vice Admiral. Expressing concern about the BFI’s »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad Drishti Jain Noida, March 19 TWO POLICE officers in Noida have been suspended and a preliminary inquiry has been initiated against a third senior officer for not invoking the Uttar Pradesh anti-conversion Act and the SC/ST Act in a case registered Tuesday. “Duetothenon-inclusionof these relevant sections, an explanation has been sought from DCP Central Noida, Shakti Mohan Awasthi, and a preliminary inquiry has been initiated against ACP-1 Central Noida, Umesh Yadav. The Station In-charge of Phase-3, PuneetKumar,andtheInvestigating Officer (Sub-Inspector) Preeti Gupta have been suspendedwithimmediateeffect,” a senior police officer said. The police officers had allegedly failed to invoke Section »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2