The Editorial Page: In age of uncertainty, patriotism is a poor substitute for statecraft 10 ThURSDaY, MaY 14, 2026 Journalism of Courage new DelhI, laTe CITy, 18 PageS ₹7.00 (₹8 raIPur, ₹15 SrInagar) 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 AMid PriMe MiniSter’S CALL FOr AUSteritY MeASUreS expressinvestigation Ministry’s special fund is for top Gold, silver import athletes, bureaucrats dip into it to duty raised to 15% in upgrade their own sports facilities bid to secure forex Official panel disbursed National Sports Development Fund money to build, refurbish sports facilities in showpiece New Delhi residential complex for bureaucrats. Funds also went to Civil Services Officers’ Institute Mihir Vasavda to PrESErVE foreign exchange, the government Wednesday hiked the customs duty ongoldandsilverimportsfrom 5% to 10%, and Agriculture Infrastructure and development Cess (AIdC) from 1% to 5%, taking the total effective import duty to 15%. this may be the first of a l tucked inside new Moti bagh, an upscale residential complex in Lutyens’ delhi where many of India’s top bureaucrats live, children slice throughthewaterinatemperature-controlled pool beneath a transparent canopy. nearby, a teenager drills forehands on a gleaming tennis court. the facilities look public, but guards at the gate decide who gets in. »COntinUed On PAGe 17 This temperature-controlled swimming pool at the new moti Bagh clubhouse in new delhi is one of the sports facilities funded by a rs 2.2-crore nsdF grant in 2024. MIhIr VaSaVDa Parliament panel’s red flag: Fund is shrinking, use it responsibly »COntinUed On PAGe 17 Mumbai, May 13 2024-25 2025-26 ₹37.02 cr ₹70.16 cr ₹85.26 cr 2023-24 Fundmanaged by12-member council,grants okayedbypanel ofsixofficials Mihir Vasavda contributions ₹43.88 cr ContrIbutIonS to the national Sports development Fund (nSdF) have more than halved in three years — from rs 85.26 crore in 2023-24 to rs 37.02 crore in 2025-26, records obtained by The Indian Express under the right to Information (rtI) Act show. theslidepromptedaParliamentary panel to raise the red flag last August, linking the decline to waning corporate faith in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and a growing preference amongdonorsforprivatelyrun sports organisations. l nsdF:dipping 2022-23 Mumbai, May 13 ₹15.13 cr Mihir Vasavda 2021-22 An InVEStIGAtIon by The Indian Express has found that the money used to build, or refurbish, these world-class facilities meant for some of the country’stopbureaucratscame fromthenationalSportsdevelopment Fund(nSdF)—a fund created to train athletes and build sporting infrastructure, and allotted by a committee of bureaucrats. The Indian Express investigated five years of official records and data obtained under the rtI Act, and interviewed current and former Governmentofficials,tofindthatwhile a chunk of these funds was indeed allotted for sports facilities, a slice of the pie was also channelled into civil services institutions and the delhi colony for bureaucrats. Aanchal Magazine New Delhi, May 13 New Delhi, Mumbai, May 13 l About 3 km away, a squash court at the Civil Services officers’Institute(CSoI)sitsempty on a mid-week afternoon. Scuff marksonthesidewallshintatan evening rush. outside, a signboarddeclarestherulesofentry: no Id, no access. Officials say move intended to curb non-essential imports, support rupee SourCe: rTI What is the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)? the nSdF was established in 1998 under the Charitable Endowments Act, 1890. It is fundedbydonations from the public and private sectors, non-resident Indians (nrIs), and charities or non-profits, with contributions from the Government. inside page 5 govt bans sugar export series of measures to bring stabilitytothecapitalaccountand prevent the rupee from further depreciation. It closed at 95.71 to a uS dollar on Wednesday, losing almost 5 per cent since the beginning of the West Asia conflict. there are discussions already in the government about hiking petrol and diesel prices with global crude oil sizzling at over $100 a barrel and state-owned oil marketing companies suffering losses of almost rs 1,000 crore to rs 1,200 crore a day. the import duty hike on goldcomesinthewakeofPrime Minister narendra Modi’s call for austerity measures and appeal to citizens to reduce petroleumconsumption,avoidnonessentialforeigntravelandgold »COntinUed On PAGe 2 NEET whistleblower first went to police, no FIR, so wrote to testing agency Hamza Khan Sikar, May 13 AtAround1:30amonMay4, several hours after the nEEt(uG) 2026 examination hadwrappedup,ateacherwith aprominentcoachingcentrein Sikar reached the district’s udyognagarpolicestationwith a bunch of pages in his hand. “He had brought a stack of papers with him, alleging ir- regularities in the just concluded nEEt paper,” udyog nagar SHo rajesh Kumar told The Indian Express. “the staff present at the police station heard him and handed him a blank sheet of paper, asking him to submit a written complaint. However, he simply left,” claimed the »COntinUed On PAGe 2 related reports, page 7 business as usual By EP UNNY noida workers’ protest: nsa invoked against two page 3 E. »COntinUed On PAGe 17 Happening today lUS PreSident Donald Trump will hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com Karnataka scraps hijab ban order, students can wear limited faith symbols Kiran Parashar Bengaluru, May 13 Four yEArS after the then bJP-led government banned the wearing of headscarves including the hijab in government and government-aided education institutions in the state, the Karnataka governmentWednesdaywithdrewthe order, and allowed students to wear limited religious or faithbased symbols along with the prescribed uniform. the February 5, 2022 order had led to protests and »COntinUed On PAGe 2 New Delhi diljit dosanjh’s last Indian passport was issued in 2018; got Us citizenship in 2022 dosanjhnoto politicsmay haveanother reason:he’s nowUScitizen Varinder Bhatia Chandigarh, May 13 LEAdInGPunJAbIsingerand bollywood actor diljit dosanjh, who has turned down an appeal to enter politics in Punjab, is not an Indian citizen. not for a while now. dosanjh, whose signature, pride-filled declaration Main Hoon Punjab (I am Punjab) serves as a powerful affirmation of his cultural identity and roots, acquired uS citizenship in 2022, The Indian Express has learnt. He has been travelling on a uS passport since September 1, 2022. His last Indian passport was issued in Mumbai in 2018. Prior to that, his Indian passport was issued in Zambia. dosanjh’s spouse Sandeep Kaur too is auS national. At the time of acquiring uS citizenship,hehadshown hisresidential address — a 5-bedroom, 3107sqmbungalow—inanupscale locality of California. He used his uS passport to »COntinUed On PAGe 2
Indian Express Limited is an Indian news media publishing company. It publishes several widely circulated dailies, including The Indian Express and The Financial Express in English, the Loksatta in Marathi and the Jansatta in Hindi.
