MONDAY DELHI, KOLKATA, CHENNAI HOTSPOTS FOR ABDOMINAL OBESITY: STUDY 06 APRIL, 2026 The three metros have emerged as hotspots for abdominal obesity among both men and women, the study in the Nature scientific journal reports epaper.morningstandard.in Blame on sedentary jobs and processed foods facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard MEASLES SCARE 98 B’DESH CHILDREN DEAD IN 3 WEEKS PAGE 9 DATA OF OVER 7 LAKH PEOPLE FROM 707 DISTRICTS WAS EXAMINED A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  Metropolitan districts surrounding National Capital Region of Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai demonstrated elevated prevalence among both men and women —Study PAGES 12 US rescues airman in daring mission Aviator scales 7,000-ft ridge to avoid capture by Iran; Trump says Tehran will be hit on Tuesday if Strait remains closed DAY 37 A G E N C I E S @Washington, Tehran A wounded US Air Force colonel survived 36 gruelling hours in the rugged mountains of southern Iran, evading capture by Iranian forces before Navy SEAL commandos extracted him in a dramatic night-time operation, which President Donald Trump termed nothing short of “miraculous.” Armed with only a pistol and moving on injured legs, the colonel — a weapons systems officer who had ejected from an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet shot down over southern Iran on Friday — navigated treacherous terrain to stay ahead of enemy patrols. At one point, he scaled a 7,000-foot ridgeline while American aircraft bombed an approaching Iranian convoy to buy him time, The Mail reported Sunday . US aviators undergo SERE training in the event they have to eject over hostile territory -survival, evasion, resistance and escape. They wear a combat vest with a radio/GPS-coded beacon to transmit their po- Whole region will burn: Iran Iran FM calls up Jaishankar Iran’s powerful parliament speaker warned US President Donald Trump on Sunday that his “reckless moves” would mean “our whole region is going to burn”. The “only real solution is respecting rights of Iranian people and ending this dangerous game,” Mohammad Ghalibaf said. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Sunday, amid an escalating rhetoric from Washington. “Received a call from Foreign Minister Araghchi. Discussed present situation,” EAM said, marking the sixth conversation since the war began | P7 The wreckage of a downed American jet and two helicopters involved in a rescue of a US Colonel, in Isfahan province | AP sition, while they also carry water, food, first-aid material and a pistol in order to survive. The airman was wounded after his ejection but could still walk, according to news outlet Axios, which cited a US official. Iran had placed a bounty on the officer’s head, setting off a race between Tehran and Washington to locate the missing aviator. “Everything is being thrown at finding the missing airman,” a source close to the President told The Mail on Sunday “The fear is he will be cap. tured and used as a pawn.” The pilot of the stricken jet had been recovered within 45 minutes of the crash. The extraction encountered serious complications. Two American transport aircraft became stranded at a remote staging location inside Iran and had to be destroyed by US forces to keep them out of Iranian hands, according to The New York Times and CBS News. Three additional planes were then deployed to ferry the rescued airman and his escort out of the country . A regional intelligence official, speaking anonymously, told Associated Press that “a technical malfunction — not enemy fire — had rendered the two planes unusable.” Iran’s version differed sharply Irani. an military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari declared that the US operation, staged from an abandoned airstrip in southern Isfahan province, had been “completely foiled.” He claimed two C-130 transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters had been destroyed. The CIA reportedly ran a parallel deception operation to help keep the aviator safe. Trump declared victory on his Truth Social platform on Sunday morning, saying: “WE GOT HIM!” P9 Bengal tribunal asks No direct sale of EC to add candidate’s cylinders from name in voters list warehouses LPG CRISIS HINDU SCRIPTURE STEPS OUT OF OXFORD The University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries has launched a UK-wide tour of ‘Shikshapatri’ to mark its 200th anniversary | P9 Kejriwal to do a Didi in HC, argue own case in liquor scam A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi FORMER Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will appear and argue in person before the Delhi High Court on Monday in a case linked to the alleged excise policy scam, AAP said. Kejriwal and several other accused in the case have moved an application seeking the recusal of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma from hearing the matter, the party said on Sunday . This comes days after the high court gave the AAP national convener and others one final opportunity to file their response on a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that sought the expunging of “unwarranted” remarks made against it by the trial court while discharging them in the liquor policy case. The ED plea challenged the trial court order that had acquitted Kejriwal in a case related to alleged non-compliance with summons during the probe in the liquor policy case. Meanwhile, Kejriwal and others had written to Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya, requesting that the matter be transferred from the single-judge bench of Sharma to another bench, a request the HC denied. S U B H E N D U M A I T I @ Kolkata A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi IN its first verdict, an appellate tribunal in West Bengal on Sunday directed the Election Commission to include the name of Congress candidate in Farakka, Mahtab Sheikh, in the supplementary voter list by the end of the day . The order of the tribunal headed by the former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam came a day before the April 6 deadline for submitting nomination for the firstphase polls in the state. Mohtab’s trouble started as his name was flagged under the ‘logical discrepancy’ status in the post-SIR voter list. His name also did not figure in the supplementary list of voters marked as ‘under adjudication’ by the ECI. The Supreme Court had allowed voters excluded voters to move any one of the 19 appellate tribunals being set up in West Bengal to contest the exclusion. However, the Congress nominee could not move any tribunal because of the delay in setting up of these units and the last date of filing nomination was approaching. He sought the intervention THE Delhi government has imposed a complete ban on the sale of cylinders directly from godowns to make the LPG distribution system more transparent and efficient. Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have issued instructions to all distributors, stating that any such sale is illegal and will attract action. At the same time, the government has significantly expanded the availability of 5-kg cylinders. They can be purchased easily from gas agencies by showing a valid ID, with no requirement for address verification. To further assist migrant workers, 11 dedicated help desks have been set up at select HPCL outlets, where people can get information about nearby LPG distributors. CM Rekha Gupta said the supply is being closely monitored to ensure there are no disruptions. Residents have been advised to avoid visiting gas agencies or storage points or gathering in crowds, as all booked cylinders are being delivered directly to homes within the stipulated time. According to data from April 4, a total of 114,679 LPG bookings were recorded in Delhi, while 131,335 cylinders were delivered by OMCs. Currently, the average delivery time for domestic LPG cylinders stands at 4.24 days, ensuring timely and reliable service for consumers. Mahtab Sheikh | EXPRESS ‘Logical discrepancy’ Mohtab was in the ‘logical discrepancy’ group because of a discrepancy in his as well as his father’s names. The tribunal noted that there is no discrepancy in Mohtab’s name though his father’s name has some inconsistencies of the SC, which in turn asked him approach a tribunal. Mohtab then moved the tribunal of Justice Sivagnanam, among the first to be set up, at Bijan Bhaban at Salt Lake. “My name figures as Mahtab Sheikh in Aadhaar card, passport, driving licence, and son’s birth certificate. Despite these proofs, I lost my eligibility as a voter in the supplementary list. Now it is solved,” he said. INSIDE IRAN WAR MAKES THINGS DEARER IN CAPITAL | P4 ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS MODI TARGETS MAMATA ON LAW AND ORDER I P8 CONG UNITES LIKE ZUBEEN, SAYS RAHUL I P8 PROPORTIONAL DELIMITATION IS A DEMOGRAPHIC COUP: PINARAYI P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi S TRESSING that the upcoming delimitation process requires scrutiny rather than blind acceptance, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday demanded a constitutional guarantee for states that have successfully stabilised their population. Speaking exclusively to this newspaper, Vijayan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance that southern states will not lose their current PRESS number of seats is a clever play CLUSIVE on words that masks injustice. “The core issue facing the Indian Republic is not merely the absolute number of seats a state holds, but its proportional representation and relative political weight within the Union,” Vijayan said, responding to Modi’s remarks. During an election rally in Kerala on Saturday, Modi had said that Lok Sabha seats would not be reduced in those Indian states that have successfully controlled population. The PM also said the total number of seats would increase to benefit states across the country . A decision of this Calling for consensus, Vijaymagnitude, which an said the inter-state seat ratio affects the very must be maintained at the 1971 foundation of our census level until all states Republic, cannot be achieve population stability . “Any increase in the total dictated by Union govt number of seats must be strucPinarayi Vijayan, Kerala CM tured so that it does not reduce the relative strength of states that have excelled in human development indicators. A decision of this magnitude cannot be dictated by the Union government. It requires a consensus reached through the InterState Council and Parliament, respecting the diversity and the sovereign rights of all constituent states. If the Union government proceeds with a delimitation exercise based solely on current population figures, it effectively punishes states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and others that have rigorously implemented national policies on population control and social development,” he said. CONTINUED ON P5 PIC: VINCENT PULIKKAL Measles is suspected to have killed at least 98 children in Bangladesh in the past three weeks, with Dhaka ramping up vaccination efforts NFHS-5 The study from Health Systems Transformation Platform found over half of women aged 15-49 (56.6%) and nearly half of men aged 15-54 (48.9%) in India have abdominal obesity. Researchers attributed this trend to long hours in sedentary jobs, increased reliance on motorised transport, and the widespread consumption of processed foods | P7 MOUNTAIN TOURISM Tourists gather near snow-covered mountains at the Atal Tunnel in Lahaul and Spiti on Sunday | PTI MINISTRY’S NOD AWAITED Army pushes `250 crore fund to cut risks for defence-centric startups J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi WITH defence startups often unable to move beyond the trial stage, the Army has proposed a `250 crore annual Field Exploitation and Capability Acceleration (FECA) fund per Service Headquarters. The proposal is under consideration by the defence ministry . The proposal, first outlined in February by Army Design Bureau Additional Director General Maj Gen C S Mann, has now been fleshed out. It aims to create a structured system to test and evaluate new technologies in real conditions, backed by small initial orders to assess performance. “The idea is to plug gaps by allowing improvements to systems over time, adapting civilian technologies for military use and covering costs during trials and field use, including damage and other expenses Likely to be included in updated DAP 2026 Despite existing initiatives such as iDEX and the Make procedure under DAP 2020, converting prototypes into actual procurement remains a persistent issue, with FECA envisaged as a more structured mechanism to bridge this gap. The FECA is now under examination in the defence ministry for possible inclusion in the updated final DAP 2026 that startups currently have to bear on their own,” an Army official told this newspaper. A key element of the proposal is risk support, which addresses a major gap in the current sys- tem. At present, startups bear the full cost of equipment damaged or expended during trials, including transportation, repairs and modifications. “There have been many cas- es where graduates from top institutions invest all their savings to build systems, only to see them fail in high-altitude conditions. Equipment gets damaged, sometimes destroyed, effectively ending a startup’s journey the official said, add,” ing, “Even a single failed trial can set a startup back significantly .” Under the proposed framework, startups and MSMEs will be given a three to four month window to demonstrate their systems. “If a system performs well, it can be taken up for limited field exploitation orders, with the possibility of scaling up to bulk procurement...,” the official said. The draft Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2026 introduces a Low Cost Capital Acquisition (LCCA) category, capped at `75 crore per project for faster procurement of relatively low-value and emerging technology systems, which is separate from the proposed FECA mechanism.