The editorial Page: india’s growth numbers are real. so is the reform challenge 10 FrIDAY, SEPtEMBEr 4, 2026 Journalism of Courage kolkata, late cIty, 18 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 Car Loan @ Zero % p.a. Processing Fee Documentation Charges Exports push GDP eXPRess investigation growth, but low-margin Police camera ‘caught’ murder, shipments struggle *T&C Apply Ravi Dutta Mishra Hurry! Limited Period Ofer business as usual By EP UNNY New Delhi, September 3 iNDia’SGooDSexportsbucked expectationstorecordtheirbestever June, with outbound shipments jumping to a record $44.24 billion at the peak of the disruptioncausedbythecrisisin West asia. This performance helped drive GDP growth in april-June to an unexpectedly high 7.8%. But under the head- West Bengal line number, most labour-intensiveandlow-marginexports did not fare well. overall goods exports in april-June rose 15% year-onyear to $129.32 billion while non-petroleum, non-gems and jewellery shipments were up 12% at $99.04 billion — well above the 6.5% growth exhibitedovertheprevioustwofinancial years. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 rape accused at Jantar Mantar protest — at least 25 of them were in jail, records show Delhi Police assures SC no action without verification. Scrutiny of records of 205 accused of serious charges reveals why this verification is crucial Page 4 abhishek’s office Ransacked, 6 held; no Political link found, say Police NIA links Ukraine, US nationals to drone attack on plane in Myanmar Credible information men were engaged in drone warfare training: Probe agency Nirbhay Thakur New Delhi, September 3 The NaTioNal investigation agency (Nia) has told a Delhi court that the seven foreign nationals who were arrested this March for allegedly conspiring to carry out terrorist activities againstindiawereinvolvedina drone attack on a civilian aircraftinneighbouringMyanmar. US national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke is lodged in Tihar jail. matthewvandyke.com The foreigners — six Ukrainians and an american — are currently in Tihar Jail. on august 31, Special Judge PrashantSharmaallowedtheNia’s applicationseekingpermission to interrogate two of the men in prison. “...The Central Government has received credible informationindicatingtheinvolvement ofcertainUkrainianandUSNationals in a drone attack on a civilianaircraftinMyanmar,”the Nia said in the application to the court dated august 19. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Facial Recognition System (FRS) in a Delhi Police van parked near the Jantar Mantar protest site in July-end. aBhInav Saha Mahender Singh Manral New Delhi, September 3 oN TUeSDay, when the Supreme Court quashed all FiRs related to the exam leak protests by students, it let the Government proceed against the 2,873 people who the Delhi Police claimed had criminal records and were identified by its facial recognition software at the main protest site in Jantar MantarbetweenJuly20and26. For their part, the police have made it clear that any action will be taken only after “field verification”, not merely on facial recognition. Their task is cut out. an investigation of those with serious charges, murder, attempted murder and rape, and child abuse, shows that at least25peopleonthelist,identified by the Facial Recognition System (FRS) at Jantar Mantar, wereinjailasperpolice,jailand court records. ofthe2,873peopleidentified inthepoliceaffidavit(seechart), The Indian Express focused on l ‘Criminals’spotted: DelhiPolicetosC no. of accused offence murder attempt to murder dacoity/ robbery Rape PocSo act molestation of women arms act Snatching kidnapping ndPS (drugs cases) other IPc/BnS and special laws 101 62 284 61 06 25 229 135 19 67 total 2873 1884 those who were accused of murder,attempttomurderand rape.Thisaccountedfor205:101 (murder), 61 (rape), six (ProtectionofChildrenfromSexualoffencesact)and37ofthe62listed intheaffidavitunderattemptto murder. in this group of 205, 17 facing charges of murder; four of rape, including two in PoCSo cases; and four more of attempttomurderwerelodged in Delhi's three prison complexes at Tihar, Mandoli and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 ICA/D1349(12)/2026 Kolkata BIlATERAl vISIT TO UkRAINE Not buying Russia oil will not stop war: Jaishankar Underlines need for dialogue, diplomacy, says India ready to help in any manner Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, September 3 DayS aFTeR Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to move from “endless war” to “end of war”, external affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in KyivonThursdaythatstopping purchase of Russian oil will not “dissolve” the conflict, and underlined the need for “dialogue and diplomacy”. he said india was ready to “help in any manner” to end the RussiaUkraine war. Demonstrating a diplomatic balancing act, Jaishankar’s bilateral visit to Ukraine comes at a time when Modi is meeting Putin twice within weeks — on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation organisation (SCo) leaders’ summit in Bishkek on august 31, and at the BRiCS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13. BesidesmeetinghisUkrainian counterpart andrii Sybiha, Jaishankar also called on Ukraine’sPresidentVolodymyr External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Thursday. anI ZelenskyyonThursday.Sybiha welcomed Modi’s call to move “towards an end to the war”, and said Ukraine “stands ready for diplomacy”. in a post on X, Zelenskyy thanked india for its “commitment to ending this unjust war”. Responding to a question at a media briefing after his meeting with Sybiha, Jaishankar »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2