The Ideas Page: measuring manufacturing growth afresh — three questions 9 MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 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 InCIdent that led to IndIa-Canada dIPlomatIC FIrestorm 83 111 136 natIonal hortICulture Board 3 years after Nijjar’s killing, tape out: Terrorist Brar claims ‘we had to do it’ After Minister, Secy’s kin availed of agri subsidy scheme, new rules bar them Brar claims he and his associates killed separatist who used minors to push drugs 70 happening today lCommerCe and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead a business delegation to Japan for a four-day visit to boost trade and investment ties. Japan last year set an investment target of 10 trillion yen (about Rs 60,000 cr) in India over a decade. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com Business as usual By EP UNNY express news service New Delhi, August 23 ThRee YeARS after the killing ofKhalistanseparatisthardeep Singh Nijjar triggered India’s worst diplomatic row with Canada after delhi rejected ottawa’s allegation of involvement, an audio clip has surfaced on social media in whichfugitivegangster-turnedterrorist Goldy Brar has purportedlyclaimedresponsibility for Nijjar’s death. Brar,whoserealnameisSatinderjeetSinghandwhoisfrom faridkot in Punjab, is purportedlyheardintheaudioclip — its authenticity could not be independently verified — speaking to Khalistan terrorist Paramjit Singh Pamma. Brar claims that Nijjar was killedbyhimandhisassociates because he had been using young people to sell drugs. “Those who groomed and incited 16-to-17-year-olds to sell drugs... those who blackmailed gangster-turned-terrorist goldy Brar; (right) hardeep singh nijjar was shot dead in surrey, British columbia, on June 18, 2023 youngpeopleintosellingdrugs and becoming informants… Nijjar supported and strengthenedtheseindividuals sothathecouldusethemwhen necessary... that’s why we had to take this step,” he said. “everyone has to face the consequences of their actions,” Brar said. The development comes a monthafterthefederalBureau of Investigation (fBI) announced a reward up to $50,000 for information leadingtoBrar’sarrest.heiswanted for his alleged links to the Lawrence Bishnoi organised crime group, which was targeted under operation hard Ball. A Canadian citizen, Nijjar was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia,onJune18,2023.hiskilling triggeredadiplomaticrowafter the then Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, alleged that Canadian authorities had credible evidence linking Indian government officials to the killing. delhi rejected the allegation, calling it “absurd” and “motivated” and maintained it had no involvement in the »ContInued on PaGe 2 Doval heads to Beijing, boundary talks with Wang Yi tomorrow NSA visit comes ahead of BRICS summit in Delhi next month shubhajit roy the world Page 16 u.s. memoranDum Best Path out of war, says Iran’s PezeshkIan BanglaDesh oPen to joInIng sauDIPak-turkey PaCt, say mInIsters explained Page 11 fIve years on, how InDIa has warmeD uP to the talIBan New Delhi, August 23 AheAd of a possible visit by ChinesePresidentXiJinpingto India for the summit of the BRICS leaders next month, National Security Advisor Ajit doval is travelling to Beijing Monday for Special Representative-level talks on the boundary issue with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. The 25th round of SR-level talkswillbeheldTuesday.Both doval and Wang are the designated SRs for the boundary talksmechanismwhichwasestablished in 2003 to comprehensively address the longstanding boundary dispute between the two countries. In the last week of June, Wang visited India for a meeting of the BRICS NSAs and met nsa ajit doval is India’s special representative for boundary talks with china doval on the sidelines. Wang, who is also China’s foreign Minister, underlined it is “imperative”forIndiaandChinato respecteachother’s“coreinterests” and take concrete actions to implement the “important consensus” reached by both sides. Thetwocountrieshavebeen movingtorepairtiesthatplummeted after the military standoffalongtheLineofActualControl (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Sincelate2024,bothsideshave taken steps to ease tensions. After he met Wang in New delhi last year, doval said the India-China border had been »ContInued on PaGe 2 express Mumbai, August 23 STARTed IN Mumbai’s Tirupati Apartments 25 years ago, vfS Global is now a world leader in visa outsourcing services.The$1.2-billioncompany handles nearly 30 million visa applications a year across 168 countries. It navigates a world where mobility, security and technology are increasingly intertwined. In an interview with The Indian Express, vfS Global founder and Ceo Zubin Karkaria, who is also a Parsi priest, interview ZuBIn karkarIa cEo of vfS GloBal spoke about the company’s push into citizen services, AI In a new era of mass global travel, is the visa infrastructure equipped to handle the surge? See,everybodyisnottravelling at the same time. even if there is a huge demand, every country has its own consulate, its own visa offices and different seasons. They can manage. »ContInued on PaGe 2 harikishan sharma New Delhi, August 23 ALMoSTTWomonthsafteran investigationbyTheIndianExpressrevealedaUnionMinister and a serving Central government secretary’s kin availing subsidy for their cucumber farms,theCentrehasamended the ‘Scheme Guidelines of Commercial horticulture and Cold Storage Schemes’ of the National horticulture Board (NhB).Ithasrevisedthedefinition of ‘family’ — bringing withinitsambitthesubsidyapplicant's spouse, father, mother, sons and daughters — andhasmadeholdersofconstitutional posts, serving ministers, MPs, MLAs, mayors, district panchayat chiefs and government employees ineligible for financial assistance under NhB schemes. The NhB, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Agriculture and farmers Welfare, amended the scheme guidelines on August 21. “With a view to rationalise The Express report on cucumber farm subsidies dated June 27 l thenewguidelines Family is now defined as applicant’s spouse, father, mother, sons and daughters Five categories not eligible: 1. Present holders of constitutional posts; 2. Ministers, MoS, MPs, Mlas, Mlcs, Mayors, chairpersons of district panchayats; 3. Serving employees of central/State govt, ministries/ departments, PSus, autonomous bodies and local bodies, except MtS/cIass-Iv/Group-D staff; 4. Retired pensioners receiving monthly pension of Rs 10,000 or more, excluding MtS/class-Iv/ Group-D employees; 5. Group of farmers E. subsidy reduced from 50% to 35% in general areas. Maximum subsidy for cold storage capped at rs 2 crore »ContInued on PaGe 2 Devdutt’s back-to-back tons devdutt padikkal celebrates his century on the first day of the second Test match between India and sri Lanka, in colombo, sunday. In the first Test at galle, padikkal had slammed 167 in the first innings, followed by 44 in the second innings. PtI ContInuInG hIs suBlIme form, Padikkal brought up his ton in 168 deliveries in an innings which had 10 fours droPPed twICe By the lankan fielders, he made them pay with an extraordinary 117, steadying India’s innings Licence to passport, VFS Global will 22 sailors of vessel that soon introduce citizen services: CEO sank off Odisha still missing, search ops on George mathew and also about its listing plans. dubai-basedKarkariasaystechnology can make the system moreefficientandcheckfrauds without replacing human decision-making. excerpts: Ministers, MPs, MLAs, officers no longer eligible; definition of family changed Two rescued crew Chinese nationals, says Coast Guard sujit Bisoyi Bhubaneswar, August 23 TheINdIANCoastGuardalong with the eastern Naval Command and other agencies have launched an intensive search and rescue operation to trace 22 crew members, who have been missing since Saturday after a Panama-flaggedcargoshipsank in the Bay of Bengal. Meanwhile, the two crew members who were rescued were identified as Chinese nationals. MV Ocean Winner sank around230nauticalmilesfrom theParadipcoastofodishalate on Saturday. Coast Guard officials said at least three ships were conducting surface searches for 22 missing seafarers. The eastern »ContInued on PaGe 2 IndIa were 300 for five at stumps on the opening day of the second test at the Sinhalese Sports club Ground page 17 nation Page 10 ‘Rise in inequality since labour is in surplus, capital in shortage. Need to democratise access to capital’ neelkanth mIshra ExEcutIvE DIREctoR, WoRlD Bank GRouP Page 13 Ex-bureaucrat, former diplomat, BCG India chairman on RBI board ens economic Bureau Mumbai, August 23 west Bengal gets rs 3,500-Crore Boost wIth fIve DefenCe ProjeCts CBI Books ex-DgCa offICIal, four avIatIon fIrms In CorruPtIon Case The GoveRNMeNT has appointed former finance Ministry official Annie George Mathew, economist and management consultant Janmejaya Kumar Sinha and former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin as part-time, non-official directors on Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s Central Board. According to an order issued Saturday by the department of Personnel and Training, the appointments, approvedbytheAppointments CommitteeoftheCabinet,"will take effect from the date of notification and will continue for four years or until further orders, whichever is earlier." The appointments will add diverseexpertise—frompublic finance to economics, corporate strategy and international diplomacy — to the RBI Board, which plays an important role inoverseeingthecentralbank’s functioning and advising on mattersrelatingtomonetary,financial, and economic policy. Mathew, 62, is a former SpecialSecretaryinthedepartment of expenditure, Ministry of finance, and is currently a full-time member of the Sixteenth finance Commission. An officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, she has more than three decades of experience in public finance, »ContInued on PaGe 2 l proToType has Been In operaTIon for around 4 monThs now Railways rolls out waterless urinals for pilots of India’s most powerful locomotives dheeraj mishra hepuraelectricLocomotivePrivate Limited (MeLPL) said. The MeLPL is a joint venThe LACK of a urinal or toilet ture between Indian Railways inlocomotivesisoneofthebig- andfrenchmajorAlstom,with gest operational challenges for Alstom holding a 74% majority the country’s loco pilots. This stake. It manufactures 12,000 challenge has become even hP electric locomotives in Bimore pronounced given that har’sMadhepuratocarryheavy the Railways is inducting load on the dedicated freight women as loco pilots. corridors. Now,India’smost vivek Garg, Mapage 1 powerful 12000naging director, horsepower locomoMeLPL, told The Intives promise to dianExpress that the change that: These will come companyhasrolledoutaprotofitted with waterless urinals for typeafterretrofittingawaterless train drivers. discussions with urinal and it has been in opertheRailwaysareatanadvanced ation for around 4 months. The stageforincorporatingtheseuri- unavailabilityofaurinalortoilet nals,aseniorofficialoftheMad- in locomotives is one of the bigPatna, August 23 anchor gest problems that a loco pilot faces.“Thisbecomesevenmore importantthatnowIndianRailways also have lady loco pilots. The original specifications of thislocomotivecalledforaspace to be kept but there was no requirement to integrate a waterlessurinal.Thediscussion withIndianRailwaysisatanadvanced stage and they want to integrate waterless urinals in all the locomotives that we are building. The prototype is performing well,” Garg said. The new locomotive from theMadhepurafactory,hesaid, will have an inbuilt urinal and it will be retrofitted for the ones which have been rolled out. The company supplied its The new locomotive from the madhepura electric Locomotive factory in Bihar will have an inbuilt urinal, which will be retrofitted for the ones that have been rolled out. DhEERaJ MIShRa 650th locomotive to the Railways on August 15. The first 12000hPlocomotivemanufactured at the Madhepura facility was put into operation from Pandit deen dayal Upadhyay junction on May 18, 2020. It has a design speed of 120 kmph and cancarry6,000tonnesoffreight. In 2015, the MeLPL was awarded the contract to manufacture and supply 800 locomotivesbyMarch2028.Theinitial cost of the project was Rs 28,000 crore, which was revised to over Rs 33,000 crore. Withthisproject,Indiabecame the sixth country in the world to manufacture 12000 hP electric locomotives. Asked why it had not been done so far and whether it was duetoatechnicalissueorlackof decision making, Garg said, “I wouldnotsaythatthereisatechnical issue or a lack of decision making over here. Integrating a waterless urinal into a locomotive also has its own challenges. for example, it has a safety aspect.Whenatrainorlocomotive is moving, you would not like the driver to leave the desk and utilise a waterless urinal, unlike a plane. When it is stationary at somelocation,onlythenadriver should be using the urinal.” he said waterless urinals also require a rethink of water supplyanddesignandthisisan area which is evolving over a period of time. “The specifications of this locomotivewereframedaround 2014-15, when such systems were not widely available or integrated into locomotive products.IthinktheIndianindustry hasmatured,andwaterlessurinals are available now. We have been flexible and open to upgradinglocomotivesastechnologyevolves,andthatiswhatwe are doing today,” he said. The initiative is also part of IndiaRailways’pushtoprovide waterless urinals in all electric locomotives in a phased manner as per feasibility. According to the Railways, as of february2026,morethan2800 locomotives have been provided with urinals. Mumbai