The Editorial Page: BJP is winning the elections but losing the economy 10 THUrSdaY, MaY 21, 2026 Journalism of Courage kOlkAtA, lAtE CIty, 16 pAgEs ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in Andaman) 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 SPeCial STraTeGiC ParTNerSHiP aNNoUNCed Trade, corridor, defence: Rome, Delhi upgrade ties ‘Working in my own grave’: How workers are training robots that may replace them opp:economic stormathome, PMmaking reelsabroad Modi, Meloni discuss ‘complex scenarios’, chart a new roadmap Shubhajit roy Indecent remarks, says BJP chief New Delhi, May 20 Women wear smart glasses at a textile factory in Tamil nadu. OBjECtWAys Soumyarendra Barik New Delhi, May 20 every Morning, before starting his shift at a textile factory in nagpur, 30-year old ashish narayan, a machine technician, straps a small recording device to his forehead. For the next several hours, the camera tracks and records everything hedoes:howheadjuststhetension on a loom, how his fingers calibrate moving parts, how he instinctively eases his grip whilefixingajammedmachine without damaging the thread running through it. He is asked to wear the device throughout »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 elevating tHeir bilateral ties to a “special strategic partnership”, india and italy Wednesdaysetatradetargetof20billion euros by 2029, agreed on a defence industrial roadmap, and concluded pacts on critical minerals, countering money launderingandterrorfinancing. these decisions were taken after Prime Minister narendra Modi held talks with italian Prime Minister giorgia Meloni »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 Happening today lPM NareNdraModi will chair a meeting of the Council of Ministers over functioning of various ministries, key decisions taken and their outcomes and future plans, among other issues. lrePoll iNWest Bengal’s Falta constituency to be held. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com Business as Usual By EP UNNY asad rehman & Maulshree Seth New Delhi, Lucknow, May 20 Prime minister narendra modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia meloni in rome, Wednesday. ANI; relaTed rePorT, pAge 8 soon aFter italy’s Prime MinistergiorgiaMeloniposted a video clip of Prime Minister narendra Modi gifting her a bag of Melody toffees in rome, opposition parties Wednesday criticised Modi, saying he was busy “making reels” abroad »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 Bengal hands over land to BSF Not in favour of clearing new hydel projects in Upper in push for border security Ganga region: Centre to SC atri Mitra Nikhil Ghanekar New Delhi, May 20 Citing tHe “incomparable position” of the alaknandaBhagirathi river basins due to hydrological,ecologicalandculturalsignificance,theCentreon Wednesdaysubmittedtothesu- Kolkata, May 20 preme Court that it is “not in favour” of permitting any new hydroelectric projects in the upperreachesofthegangariver. itsaidonlythesevenexisting projects—tehristage–ii(1,000 MW), tapovan vishnugad (520 MW), vishnugad Pipalkoti »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 West Bengal Chief Minister suvendu adhikari on Wednesday announced a new “detect, delete and deport”' framework against “infiltrators” and announced to hand over a 27-km stretch of land to the Border »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 cm suvendu adhikari with BsF dG Praveen kumar. ANI Govt pitch to US nuclear mission: Scale up capacity, small modular reactors key anil Sasi New Delhi, May 20 alongsideastepped-uprole for the private sector in nuclear plant operations, india is doubling down on its domestic civilnuclearprogrammebased on its mainstay, pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWrs), and remains open to collaborating with external players to scale up projects built on this technology. less than six months after the landmark legislation opened up india’s nuclear sector, a visiting high-powered american nuclear delegation hasbeeninformed,inmeetings withtop governmentfunctionaries, of new delhi’s two clear E. explained America’s mission The US nuclear ‘executive mission’ has a twin-pronged brief: take stock of India’s nuclear energy landscape after a landmark legislation opened up this sector; communicate the US industry’s interest, as well as coordinate US government messaging, on emerging opportunities. objectives following the legal changes: scale up nuclear power to step up base-load capacity, and progressively enter »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 FLEXI CAP FUNDS MAUKE banaye MUMKIN Zindagi ke liye SIP Benefits of Flexi Cap Funds Freedom to move across large, mid, and small caps to capture opportunities Adjusts with market conditions Suitable for long-term investors SCAN TO LEARN MORE 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. 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