WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM A Toast to Better Times Nashik may have given India a taste of the Napa Valley but beyond the scenic charm and weekend crowds lies another story — of Indian wineries still fighting for a place at the table LUCKNOW, APRIL 12, 2026 SCREEN Chetak Screen Awards LATE CITY 14+4 PAGES ₹6.00 D A I L Y F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , C H A N D I G A R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N A G P U R , P A T N A , P U N E , V A D O D A R A IN ISLAMABAD, VANCE AND GHALIBAF LEAD FIRST HIGH-LEVEL DIRECT DISCUSSIONS SINCE 1979 IRAN REVOLUTION US, Iran start talking Trump says US ‘clearing out’ Strait of Hormuz; Iran demands ceasefire in Lebanon, release of frozen assets Ariba Shahid, Asif Shahzad & Parisa Hafezi Islamabad, April 11 US Vice President J D Vance with Pakistan’s Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Deputy PM Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Islamabad. AP US AND Iranian negotiators held their highest-level talks in half a century in Pakistan Saturday to try to end their sixweek war as President Donald Trump said his military was clearing the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway, a major transit point for global energy suppliesthatIranhaseffectively blocked but Trump has vowed to reopen, is crucial to negotiationsbetweenthesidesduring a ceasefire agreed last Tuesday and due to last two weeks. “We’renowstartingtheprocess of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to countries all over the world,” Trump posted on social media, adding that Iranian mine-dropping vessels had been sunk. The US military said two of its warships had passed through the strait and conditions were being set to clear mines, while Iran’s state media denied any US ships had transited the waterway. E. ExPlAINED The core issues on the table Iranian demands for control of the Strait of Hormuz and cessation of Israeli hostilities against Lebanon, home to Tehran’s ally Hezbollah, are the two primary issues that need to be resolved to stabilise a fragile ceasefire after the six-week war. There’s also the issue of the US insistence that Iran roll back its nuclear programme. ThetalksinIslamabadwere the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. USVicePresidentJDVance, specialenvoySteveWitkoffand Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner flew in on Saturday andmetIranianParliamentary »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Before Bengal’s SIR row, Maharashtra CEO red-flagged to ECI: Need more time Letter sent in Nov 2025 underlined last Maharashtra exercise took 13 months Alok Deshpande & Damini Nath The Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in Islamabad. REUTERS ‘Reliable, compassionate’: Iran embassy sends Maggi to Maruti, war home medicines bought from India donations upends production Divya A New Delhi, April 11 A CONSIGNMENT of medical supplies donated by the people of India has been dispatched to Iran, Mohammad Fathali, Tehran’s ambassador to Delhi, said Saturday. The Iranian embassy in New Delhi used donations by Indians to buy medicines to send home. The announcement of the dispatch came a day after the embassy deactivated accounts previously designated for receiving monetary contributions in India. In a video message, Fathali said the aid shipment was facilitated by the embassy using “voluntarycontributionsofthe people of India to purchase medicine”. The initiative, accordingtohim,reflectedIndia’s “sympathy and solidarity with the people and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in these difficult times.” Appreciating the gesture, Fathali, while standing before apartoftheconsignment,said, “The embassy of the Islamic »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 schedules, retail prices Aanchal Magazine New Delhi, April 11 In a video message, Iran’s Ambassador Mohammad Fathali stands before a part of the consignment sent to Iran. @IRAN_IN_INDIA WITH THE West Asia war disrupting supply chains, Nestlé India is facing a shortage of packaging material and this is learnt to have resulted in a pileup of Maggi,thebest-selling instant noodles brand, in at least one of its multiple production units in the country. l A leading multinational corporation dealing in food processing and packaging has wAR IN GULF toll aT hOme AN EXPRESS SERIES reduced its energy usage at one of its key plants in western »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 happening Shetty beats World No. 1, today India on cusp of Asian l PM NARENDRA MODI will address youth through a video message at ‘My Bharat Budget Quest 2026’ event in Jaipur. l HUNGARY TO VOTE in a high-stakes election, with PM Orbán facing strong challenge. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm uTTAr PrADEsh A ‘VEdIC fOREST’ TAkESSHApEINU.p. TEmpLETOwN pAgE 5 exclusive Meanwhile in Gujarat, 8 go to HC for inclusion in post-SIR list, 7 win Aditi Raja & Ritu Sharma Vadodara, Gandhinagar, April 11 EVEN AS doors to electoral rolls were being shut for voters in West Bengal the past few days,inGujarat—thestatethat has seen the highest number of deletions in terms of percentage in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise so far — the High Court has provided a window. Petitions of eight badminton singles crown Shivani Naik Mumbai, April 11 INDIA’S AYUSH Shetty Saturday stormed into the BadmintonAsiaChampionshipsmen’s finals, becoming the first Indian to do so after Dinesh Khanna won the title in 1965. The 20-year-old, 6-foot-4 World No. 25 from Karnataka’s Karkala village defeated World No.1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 10-21, 21-19, 21-17, riding on his power smash that comes from almost an 8-foot watchtower-like vantage when he leaps to connect. In the finals, to be held in Ningbo, China, on Sunday, (CEO)SChockalingamwroteto the poll panel flagging that the timeline prescribed was too Mumbai, New Delhi, April 11 tightandsoughtsufficienttime IT WAS on October 27 last year to complete the exercise, The that the Election Commission Sunday Express has learned. Maharashtra of India (ECI) anwas not one of the nounced the ExPrEss 12 states where Special Intensive the SIR was anRevision (SIR) of nounced but electoralrollsin12 sources said the states/Union Territories.Thatcametwomonths CEO’s letter was part of the after its controversial Bihar SIR feedback during deliberations between the poll panel and ended on September 30. An internal red flag was states. Maharashtra is among the raised within days. On November 25, Maha- top three states in the country »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 rashtra'sChiefElectoralOfficer voters in Gujarat regarding electoral rolls were heard over the past week; the court orderedtheauthoritiestoinclude names of seven in the voter list. Three of the petitioners wanted to contest elections for urban local bodies and panchayats being held in the state on April 26, the nominations for which closed on Saturday. One of them is a former BJP Porbandar chief. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ThE wOrlD ARTEmIS II CREw BACk ON EARTH Ayush Shetty in action during the Asia Championships in Ningbo, China. BAI AyushwilltakeonWorldChampion Shi Yuqi from China. “TheAsians(championship) is tougher than the World »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 pAgE 11 PM and LoP PM Narendra Modi in conversation with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi at Parliament complex. They were attending an event to mark Mahatma Jyotiba Phule’s 200th birth anniversary. VIDEO GRAB/ ANI PAGE 8 l IN TOTAL COMMAND OF HER PARTY AND GOVT, WEST BENGAL CM AND TMC CHIEF DRAWS SUPPORT FROM NOT JUST A WOMAN VOTE BANK, BUT ALSO A WOMAN LEADERSHIP Didi’s 10: The woman brigade in Mamata’s army as she seeks a fourth term Ravik Bhattacharya & Atri Mitra Kolkata, April 11 IF LOOKS can be deceptive, Mamata Banerjee has had them fooled. The frail leader, in a plain cotton sari, rough hair bun and disarming chappals, is also the vanquisher of many a mighty rival.Theindefatigable71-yearold street fighter is also West Bengal’s caring “Didi (elder sister)”andaffectionate“Meyekei (daughter)”, with womenfirst schemes such as Kanyash- woman leader in the ree Prakalpa, Lakcountry with comshmir Bhandar and plete control over her Swasthya Sathi. party and governWithin the party, ment, seeks a fourth she has a strong chain terminpower,it’swith of women leaders, DECISION acoregroupofwomen from booth level to leaders around her — elected positions. fromthestreetsofKolWomen are also at the kata to the power corforefront of the TMC’s wEST key agitations, be it BENGAL ridors of Delhi: Chandrima Singur or Nandigram, Bhattacharya, 70: and have cornered up to40%oftheticketsinelections, Bhattacharya, a TMC spokeshighest by far among major person and the state president of its women’s wing, is among parties. Now, as Mamata, the only theseniormostmembersofthe 2026 Within her party, Mamata Banerjee has a strong chain of women leaders, right from booth level to elected positions. PARTHA PAUL CM’swomen’sbrigade.AsMinister of State in the Mamata government, Bhattacharya holdsvariedportfolios,fromFinance (Independent Charge) and Health, Family Welfare to Land Reforms, and Refugee and Rehabilitation. Bhattacharya was not among the early followers of Mamata, staying back in the Congress when she formed the TMC. It was only in 2009, during the Singur and Nandigram movements which provided MamatathemomentumtodislodgetheCPI(M)inBengal,that Bhattacharya grew close to her andeventuallyjoinedtheTMC. A trained lawyer, Bhattacharyapractisedasanadvocate in the Kolkata High Court till after she contested and won from Dum Dum Uttar as an MLA in 2011. In2016,Bhattacharyalostto the CPI(M)’s Tanmay Bhattacharya from the seat. But, in a sign of Mamata’s trust in her, she fielded Bhattacharya from Dakshin Kanthi in a 2017 bypoll. When she won, Mamata reinducted her as MoS. ShashiPanja(63):Adoctor by training, Panja is the daughter-in-law of one-time Union minister Ajit Panja, who hadsplitfromtheCongressand foundedtheTMCwithMamata. When the TMC first formed the government in 2011, Mamata didn’t consider the MLA from Shyampukur for a ministry. But, in 2013, Panja was given responsibility of the Women and Child Development Department as MoS. This proved critical as Panja steered Mamata’s pet ‘Kanyashree’. Intheoutgoinggovernment, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow