The editorial Page: india-Bangladesh ties should be Hasina-proof 10 FRIdAY, AUGUST 7, 2026 Journalism of Courage mumbai, laTe ciTy, 20 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 If GEN Z IS PROTESTING, IT IS NOT ANTI-NATIONAl, HE SAyS AT mEETING wITH yOUTH EXPRESS investigation RSS chief: Gen Z grievances Govt deep-tech fund: Rs 2,192 cr real, protest way of dialogue cleared, 62% goes to firms linked to panel that chose them 15 of 22 firms chosen have links to seven members in selection panel; members say they disclosed their interests, recused; it’s public money, need guardrails, says MP who flagged issue Amitabh Sinha & Sandeep Singh l New Delhi, August 6 Whichfirmgothowmuch,what’sthelink Saurabh Srivastava A new public fund to boost India’s deep-tech ambitions in the private sector has approved, in its first round, Rs 2,192 crore in soft loans to 22 private companies at the cutting edge of space science, energy tech and pharma, among others. These companies were chosen from 124 applicants by a 12-member panel, including 11 established names in private equity and technology, and a non-voting government representative. The credentials of each company are well-established. There’s one question mark, though. An investigation by The Indian Express has found that of the22recipientsofpublicmoney, 15 have investment ties to seven members of the selection committee, raising questions of conflict of interest and propriety. These together got over Rs 1,377 crore.nineofthefirmsarelinked to the chairman of the selection panel,thefounderofanangelinvesting network who also has a personalstakeinatleastoneofthe companies selected. These members are part of the Investment Committee of the Technology Development Board (TDB), one of the two organisations under the Ministry »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Former Chairman, NASSCOM & IVCA and Co-founder, Indian Angel Network Company & funding approved l Noccarc Robotics (Medical) ₹11.41 cr l EndureAir Systems (Advanced Manufacturing) ₹30.01 cr l e-TRNL Energy (Energy) ₹94 cr l Dhruva Space (Space) ₹105 cr l BigEndian (Semiconductors) ₹130 cr l Astrome Technologies (Space) ₹64.05 cr l Peptris Technologies (Pharma) ₹86 cr l Serigen Mediproducts, (Medical) ₹20 cr l Manastu Space Technologies (Space) ₹116 cr K.R.S. Jamwal Former Executive Director Tata Industries Ltd. l Noccarc Robotics l EndureAir Systems l Tejas Networks (Digital Infra) ₹250 cr l BigEndian l Peptris Technologies, l ThinkMetal (Advanced Manufacturing) ₹6.7 cr l Manastu Space Technologies Debashish Bhattacharjee Former Vice President (Technology Tashi Tobgyal Dept of Science & Technology. and R&D), Tata Steel, Managing Partner, Lionstead Ventures & TDB Board Member l Neo Seekermetals (Minerals, metals) ₹10 cr Sanjay Nayak Former CEO & Co-founder, Tejas Networks Ltd. l Ather Energy (Semiconductors) ₹211.89 cr l Tejas Networks Anand Deshpande Chairman, Persistent System l Serigen Mediproducts Gopal Srinivasan Chairman & MD, TVS Capitals Fund l Agnikul Cosmos (Space) ₹200 cr Sudhir Mehta Founder and Chairman, Pinnacle Industries and EKA Mobility l Replus Engitech (Energy) ₹42.75 cr RDi FunDing appRoveD in ₹cR, souRce: DepaRTmenT oF science & Technology, Roc RecoRDs SoftloanforR&D inprivatesector tocutredtape: Howitworks Amitabh Sinha New Delhi, August 6 The ReseARCh, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore, was created by the Government last year to provide collateral-free, lowcost, long-term loans to private sector companies engaged in advanced research and innovation in priority deep-tech sectors like artificial intelligence, quantum technology, space science, defence, robotics, clean energy, semiconductors and digital healthcare. E. Who administers the fund? The fund is housedundertheAnusandhan nationalResearch Foundation (AnRF), a recently established statutory body under the Ministry of science and Technology to promote research and innovation, especially in the university system, mobilise additional financial resources for R&D activities, and strengthen industryacademia collaborations. A special Purpose Fund (sPF) has been created under AnRF, which is the custodian of money allocated for the RDI Fund. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Conversation with Ted Sarandos Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos in conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, Indian Express Group, at Express Adda in New Delhi on Thursday. Renuka puRi EXPRESS special 94 122 150 76 Maharashtra panel wants tight scrutiny for minority status to edu institutions Alok Deshpande Mumbai, August 6 Business as Usual By EP UNNY eDUCATIOnAl InsTITUTIOns seeking minority status inMaharashtracouldsoonface tighter scrutiny, with a government-appointed committee recommending that the approval process be supervised by a senior IAs officer, applications be vetted by a multi-department expert panel, and institutions be subjected to periodic review even after minority status is granted, The Indian Express has learned. The report, submitted by the high-level committee headed by Additional Chief Recommends IAS-level oversight, multi-dept vetting, periodic review after status granted; new SOP likely by Aug end secretary B Venugopal Reddy, has highlighted the lacunae in the existing system, which lacks adequate checks, with applications currently processed by a dedicated desk usually headed by a non-IAs officer in the minority affairs department, and no mechanism to periodically review institutions after they receive minority status. The panel was constituted after the controversy earlier this year over the grant of minority status certificates to educational institutions. Its recommendations have since prompted the state government to set up another committee to draft a revised standard Operating Procedure (sOP), which officials said is likely to be finalised by the end of this month. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Leadership brings image of someone giving speeches, winning elections... it doesn’t work that way, says Bhagwat Shubhangi Khapre Mumbai, August 6 InAmajoroutreachtoGenZin the wake of the Jantar Mantar protest,RsschiefMohanBhagwat said Thursday that agitation was a legitimate form of dialogue in a democracy and that concerns raised over India’s education system were genuine. he described today’s youth as “more honest” than previous generations, dismissedattemptstobrandthem Experts relied on chits, memory to leak NEET questions: CBI probe Nirbhay Thakur New Delhi, August 6 Bhagwat in Mumbai, Thursday. ap as anti-national, and said reforms in education must come through dialogue. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The CBI probe into the neeT (UG) paper leak has found that threesubjectexpertstookexam questions out of the national Testing Agency (nTA) office in Delhi using different methods — one scrawled questions on paper chits before hiding them while two others memorised the questions, returned to their hotel rooms to either write them down or mark the relevant paragraphs in nCeRT textbooks. And, according to the CBI, theycoulddothisbecausethey were not frisked while exiting the “confidential section”, a wing situated on the first floor of the nTA office, which also lacked a dedicated CCTV live feed monitoring control room. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Consider Opp request for HC overturns acquittal of Tejpal, sentences him Shah presence in House, to 10 years in jail for rape RS Chairman tells Govt Nikhil Ghanekar Pavneet Singh Chadha Panaji, August 6 New Delhi, August 6 UnDeRlInInG ThATnotions of a “perfect victim” are a myth and neither the court nor the respondentcandecidehowshe should react or process her trauma,thehighCourtofBombay at Goa Thursday overturned the 2021 trial court AMID OPPOsITIOn demands for a statement in the house by Union home Minister Amit shah on the July 20 police action on protesters marching towards Parliament from Jantar Mantar, Rajya sabha Chairman andVice-PresidentCPRadhakrishnan told Parliamentary Af- »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ex-Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal in Panaji, Thursday. ani fairsMinisterKirenRijijuThursday to “echo the sentiments of the Opposition” to shah and “consider the request” for his presence in the house. Radhakrishnan made the remarks amid interruptions after house proceedings had resumed at noon after an adjournment. After Question hour began, disruptions »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2