The Editorial Page: In age of uncertainty, patriotism is a poor substitute for statecraft 8 ThURSDAY, MAY 14, 2026 JournalIsm of Courage MUMBaI, laTe CITy, 18 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 AMid PriMe MiniSter’S CALL FOr AUSteritY MeASUreS expressinvestigation Gold and silver import duty Ministry’s special fund is for top raised to 15% to secure forex athletes, bureaucrats dip into it to 75 CBI conducts searches across multiple states, seizes phones Mahender Singh Manral, Hamza Khan, Sushant Kulkarni & Mohammed thaver New Delhi, Sikar, Pune, Mumbai, May 13 Karnataka scrapshijabban order,students canwearlimited faithsymbols 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 heightened communal tensions in several parts of Karnataka. as the row escalated, the matter went to the courts. While the Karnataka High Court upheld the ban order, a Supreme Court bench deliveredasplitverdictandasked that the matter be referred to a larger bench. On Wednesday, Karnataka School education and Literacy Minister Madhu bangarappa said the 2022 order related to religious attire in education »COntinUed On PAGe 2 FOLLOWing THe arrest of a nashik-based ayurveda student over his alleged involvement in the paper leak that led to the cancellation of the neeT-ug exam, the Cbi said Wednesdaythattheagencyhas arrested five persons so far and conducted searches across multiple states as part of its probe in the case. Police officers in Maharashtra and rajasthan said more people have been detained in the case, mainly for questioning, including a woman from Pune. a Cbi spokesperson said, “The arrests — three from jaipur, one from gurugram and onefromnashik—markaswift crackdown following the Cbi’s registrationofaFir...onMay12.” ThosearrestedhavebeenidentifiedasShubhamKhairnarfrom nashik; Mangilal biwal, Vikas biwal and dinesh biwal from »COntinUed On PAGe 2 one of the five arrested being produced before a court in Jaipur on Wednesday. PTI 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 had wrapped up, a teacher with a prominent coaching centre in Sikar reached the district’s udyog nagar police station with a bunch of pages in his hand. “He had brought a stack of papers with him, alleging irregularities 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 SHO, denying claims that the police turned him away. itwasontheeveningofMay 3 that the teacher had received the handwritten ‘guess paper’ from his landlord in Sikar, asking if it was indeed genuine. »COntinUed On PAGe 2 Maharashtra’s first arrest in NEET leak — ‘Doctor’ without a degree Vallabh Ozarkar Nashik, May 13 THe SignbOard said “dr Shubham Khairnar.” it hung outside a consultancy office on the mezzanine floor of a commercial complex incentralnashik,inthemiddle of one of the city's busiest coaching corridors. every day, an estimated 2,500 students passedthroughthatarea,carrying textbooks, attending shubham khairnar is accused of purchasing leaked question paper for around rs 10 lakh and selling it for rs 15 lakh per copy. classes, preparing for neeT, dreamingofbecomingdoctors. Khairnar had once tried to enter that world himself. in 2021, he enrolled for a bachelor ofayurvedicMedicineandSurgeryatShriSatyaSaiuniversity inSehore,nearbhopal.according to vice-chancellor Mukesh Tiwari, he showed up for admission and never came back. not for classes. not for exams. He returned to nashik instead, put up a signboard with 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. »COntinUed On PAGe 17 Happening today lUS PreSident Donald Trump will hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Besides trade, the talks will also cover the Iran war and US arms sales to Taiwan. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com business as usual By EP UNNY »COntinUed On PAGe 2 Parliament panel’s red flag: Fund is shrinking, use it responsibly Mihir Vasavda Mumbai, May 13 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. »COntinUed On PAGe 17 l nsdF:dipping Fundmanaged by12-member council,grants okayedbypanel ofsixofficials Mihir Vasavda contributions Mumbai, May 13 ₹37.02 cr 187 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 2025-26 150 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. ₹70.16 cr 122 NEET-UG: 3 from Rajasthan family among 5 in CBI net 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. 2024-25 COnGreSS, BjP trAde CHArGeS New Delhi, Mumbai, May 13 ₹85.26 cr »COntinUed On PAGe 2 Mihir Vasavda 2023-24 Modi’s call for austerity measures and appeal to citizens to reduce petroleum consumption, avoid non-essential foreign travel and gold purchases for a year as part of measures to help the country deal with global disruptions and challenges. The government has also increased import duty on gold and silver findings to 5% – the findings are small components such as hooks, clasps, clamps, 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 ₹43.88 cr 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 series of measures to bring stabilitytothecapitalaccountand prevent the rupee from further sugar export upgrade their own sports facilities 2022-23 New Delhi, May 13 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 gold comes in the wake of Prime Minister narendra pins, screws used to hold the whole or a part of a piece of jewellery in place. Platinum findings will attract a 5.4% import duty. The effective import duty on platinum has also been increased to 15.4% from 6.4%. additionally, a 3% integrated gST (igST) will be payable on all imports of precious metals in addition to the basic customs duty and aidC. all these measures will help reduce outflows of foreign exchange; since the onset of the conflict, foreign exchange reserves have been depleted by almost $38 billion. Managing the current ₹15.13 cr Aanchal Magazine page 11 2021-22 inside Officials say move intended to curb non-essential imports, support rupee govt bans 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. E. »COntinUed On PAGe 17 nASHiK tCS CASe AIMIM corporator’s house where accused ‘stayed’ razed Zeeshan Shaikh Mumbai, May 13 in a massive pre-dawn operation on Wednesday, the Chhatrapati Sambhaji nagar MunicipalCorporation(CSMC) razed three structures linked to aiMiM corporator Matin Patel that included the Kausar baug house where nashik TCS case accused nida Khan allegedly stayed before her arrest. The operation, carried out amid heavy police deployment, triggered sharp political reactions and allegations of selective targeting by the aiMiM. The civic body deployed more than 270 personnel, including around 120 police personnel, along with 22 heavy vehicles, including 10 jCb machines, for the operation that began before sunrise. Officials said the three structures hadbeenidentifiedasallegedly properties belonging to aImIm corporator matin patel are demolished in chhatrapati sambhaji nagar on Wednesday. aNI unauthorised constructions. among the demolished propertieswastheKausarbaug house from where nida Khan wasallegedlytraced,astructure innaregaonusedbyPatelasan office, and a portion of Patel’s residence in naregaon where helivedwithhisfamilyandparents. While the Kausar baug property and office structure werecompletelyrazed,theresidential premises in naregaon were partially demolished. The action comes days after »COntinUed On PAGe 2 l acquIred u.s. cITIzenshIp In 2022, has sInce been TravellIng on an amerIcan passporT Dosanjh says no to politics, and there’s another reason — no longer an Indian citizen Varinder Bhatia Chandigarh, May 13 LeadingPunjabisingerand bollywoodactordiljitdosanjh, 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 citizen- ship 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 KaurtooisauSnational.atthe time of acquiring uS citizenship,hehadshownhisresidential address — a 5-bedroom, 3107sqmbungalow—inanupscale locality of California. He used his uS passport to travel to india last month. Sourcessaidhehasbeentravelling to india on an e-visa since September 2022 — this means he does not hold an OCi card. Last Saturday, a think tank of retired iaS officers, defence personnel and professionals in Punjab issued a full-page advertisement in a leading newspaper, urging dosanjh to take over the political leadership of Punjab “brought to its knees by successive dispensations”. diljit dosanjh’s last Indian passport was issued in 2018 dosanjh,however,declined the offer. in a post on X, he said, Kadey v Nahi (never). Mera kaam entertainment karna (My job is to entertain people). am very happy in my field. Thank you so much.” evenifheweretochangehis mind, dosanjh cannot just jump into indian politics. under Section 6 of the indian Citizenship act, a foreign national can apply to seek indian citizenship if he or she satisfies conditions, one of which stipu- lates that the applicant must have lived in india for 12 years in total before the application, includingcontinuousresidence duringtheimmediatelypreceding12monthsandresidencefor 11 of the previous 14 years. MultipleattemptsbyTheIndianExpresstocontactdosanjh for comment did not elicit a response.Phonecallsandqueries sent to his secretary Sonali Singh, janamjai Sehgal (local contactonhisindianvisaapplication) remained unanswered. Last week, Khalistan separatist gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a leader of the Sikhs for justice banned by india, threatened dosanjh for rebuking flag-waving Khalistan sympathisers at his concerts in the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Calgary. born on january 6, 1984 to balbir Singh and Sukhwinder Kaur in jalandhar’s dosanjh Kalan village, dosanjh’s first prominentmusicalalbumIshq Da Uda Ada was released in 2004. He made his debut in Punjabi cinema in The Lion of Punjab (2011) and became very popular after Jihne Mera Dil Luteya.HisroleinUdtaPunjab (2016)gothimaFilmfareaward inthebestMaledebutcategory. in 2020, dosanjh became the first indian artist to enter the billboard Social 50 chart. Last month, he appeared for a second time on The Tonight Show Starring jimmy Fallon, and discussed Sikh history and Punjabi pride.