tuesdAY Southwest monsoon rainfall to be below normal this year: IMD april, 2026 This year’s southwest monsoon rainfall over the country is likely to be below normal, the India Meteorological Department said on Monday 14 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard Orban out Ramanathi Dam in Tamil Nadu’s Tenkasi, which has a storage capacity of 84 feet, has completely dried up | V KARTHIKALAGU Reformist Magyar gets the baton Hungarian voters on Sunday booted out long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orban after 16 years in power, rejecting his authoritarian policies Page 9 Shocking charges of conversion at TCS Nashik PADMINI DH R UVA R AJ @ Bengaluru WITH the sexual harassment case at the Nashik office of Tata Consultancy Services taking a religious turn over allegation of forced conversion, the company said the matter would be probed by Chief Operating Officer Aarthi Subramanian. Calling the alle g ations “gravely concerning and anguishing”, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said the matter was being treated with utmost seriousness. In a statement, Chandrasekaran said action had already been initiated against the accused staff and the company was extending full cooperation to the ongoing investigation. “Appropriate and stringent action will be taken against those found guilty. Any necessary process improvements or corrective measures will be promptly implemented and strictly enforced,” he added. Last week, police formed a special investigation team to probe the complaints lodged by eight employees, who said senior colleagues mentally and sexually harassed them, and the HR department ignored their complaints. Police have arrested seven persons, including the HR manager. The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), an employees’ body representing IT sector workers, approached the Ministry of Labour and Employment seeking a detailed audit of Prevention of Sexual Harassment compliance (POSH) at TCS. NITES has also called for an examination of all sexual harassment complaints received, pending, or disposed of within the organisation over the past several years, along with the action taken in each case. It further sought an assessment of the role and accountability of the HR and senior management in handling complaints and ensuring a safe workplace. It also demanded a probe into whether workers were discouraged from reporting complaints or subjected to retaliation. PM Modi says India on brink of Historic quota India is on the brink of making a big decision as Parliament meets to end ‘decades of waiting’ by amending the Women’s Reservation Act for its implementation in 2029, the PM said on Monday | P7 Express read Rainfall to be 92% of long-period average A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi Asha Bhosle cremated with full state honours Hundreds of people gathered at the Shivaji Park crematorium in Mumbai on Monday to bid music legend Asha Bhosle a final goodbye. The playback singer, who died at 92, was cremated with full state honours. | P8 J8.00 PAGES 12 l Workers take to streets for better pay, fight pitched battle with cops Traffic towards Delhi choked as protestors block roads in Noida Yogi smells ‘Naxal’ conspiracy n a m i ta b a j pa i & A d i t i R ay C h o w d h u r y @ Lucknow/Noida Noida woke up to massive protests on Monday morning as a four-day-long agitation by garment and industrial workers over wage disparities and working conditions turned violent across the city What began on Friday as . a coordinated demonstration demanding higher wages, pay parity with neighbouring Haryana, and improved working conditions escalated sharply, with thousands of workers taking to the streets in areas, including Phase 2, Sector 60, Sector 62, and Sector 84 of Noida. Over 1,000 workers had gathered in front of several industrial units in Noida’s NSEZ and Phase 2 areas—key hubs housing electronics, manufacturing and export-oriented factories. The unrest quickly spread to more than 10 locations, including Sectors 40, 60, and 85, while protests and road blockades were reported in Sectors 1, 15, and 62. Workers blocked National Highway 9, bringing traffic to a near standstill during peak office hours and leaving commuters stranded for hours along the Delhi-Noida border. (Left) A police bike burns after it was set ablaze by workers in Noida on Monday. (Right) Police chase away protesters | Parveen Negi Panel to hold talks with labour unions The UP govt has set up a panel for a dialogue with all the stakeholders. The Industrial Development Commissioner will head the committee, which included five representatives from labour unions. P3 The protests took a violent turn as agitated workers resorted to stone pelting, vandalism and arson. Several vehicles and buses were set on fire, damaged cars lined the streets and a police vehicle was overturned during attempts to disperse the crowd. Police responded by deploying forces from multiple stations and using teargas shells to bring the situation under control. Workers, many of whom hail Crackdown on social media handles In a crackdown, the Noida Police has lodged an FIR against two social media handles belonging to Mir Iliyas and Anushi Tiwari for allegedly indulging in rumour-mongering over the protests. P3 from villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, said their wages had failed to keep pace with rising living costs. “I have been working here for the last 10 years and still my salary is `13,000 for 8 hours of duty I have two children—how do . I manage in this time of rising prices,” asked Sunil, a team lead at a manufacturing unit. Another worker, Priyanshu, said, “This month our salary increased by just `300, whereas our house rent Tehran warns of attacks as US block of ports begins A g e n c i e s @ Dubai, Washington THE US on Monday walked the talk on blocking all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports from 7.30 pm IST, the deadline it had set for the exercise. President Donald Trump warned that any Iranian attack boats that approach the naval blockade will be “eliminated”. The US Central Command said US forces would not impede vessels transiting the Strait to and from non-Iranian ports. Trump’s warnings set the stage for an extraordinary showdown that poses serious risks for the global economy and raises the spectre that the ceasefire could collapse and the war could resume. Talks aimed at ending the conflict, which began February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, failed to reach an agreement this past weekend in Pakistan. To p - r a n k i n g day Iranian officials threatened retaliation. Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, dismissed US war nings as bluster while warning that “Tehran was prepared to respond if the situation escalates militarily Irani. a n p a rl i a m e n t s p e a k e r, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 45 Bandar Abbas Strait of Hormuz Iran Khasab Oman Sharjah Dubai Abu Dhabi Sohar Al Ain United Arab Emirates Oman Oil tankers (red) and cargo ships (green) stuck around the Hormuz at 7 pm IST. The US blockade of Iranian ports aims to force Iran to give up control of the strait | Marine traffic addressed Trump in a statement: “If you fight, we will fight... Tehran will not bow to any threats.” Meanwhile, Russia said it stands ready to take in Iran’s highly enriched uranium as part of a future peace deal with the US, the Kremlin said on Monday . Globally, leaders urged restraint. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a ceasefire between the United States and Iran was “holding”. Qatar’s foreign minister and Premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani ED arrests I-PAC director in Bengal coal ‘scam’ The ED on Monday arrested Vinesh Chandel, director and co-founder of political consultancy firm I-PAC, in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged coal scam in the pollbound state. l India is expected to receive 80 cm of rainfall during the season this year. The long-period average (1971–2020) of the seasonal rainfall over the entire country is 87 cm. “Quantitatively, the seasonal rainfall over the country as a whole is likely to be 92 per cent of LPA with a model error of +/- 5 per cent,” Dr M Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology at the IMD, said | P7 told his Iranian counterpart that Iran and US should engage positively . France and Britain will cohost a conference this week involving more than 40 nations to discuss a multinational mission to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. China, which is reliant on energy supplies coming through the strait, called for “unimpeded” navigation through the waterway . Oil prices, meanwhile, are back above $100 per barrel. Pope Leo XIV said the Vatican’s appeals for peace are rooted in the Gospel, and that he d o e s n’ t f e a r t h e T r u m p administration. increased by `1,000.” Voices from the protest sites suggested that the unrest was the culmination of prolonged frustration. “We had been raising our concerns for days, but no one listened. The situation turned violent only after we were ignored,” a group of workers said. Others alleged that factory managements remained unresponsive even during the peak of the agitation. Continued on P3 Citizen-centric traffic plan launched after L-G’s push E X P R ESS NEWS SE R VI C E @ New Delhi The Delhi Traffic Police has launched Project SANGAM after LG Taranjit Singh Sandhu directed it to find citizencentric solutions to traffic-related problems by involving residents and market welfare associations. Project SANGAM—abbreviated for Synergistic Action and Networked Governance for Area Mobility—brings together the police, MCD, PWD, and citizen associations. The project has been made operational in Karol Bagh, Chanakyapuri, Saket, Connaught Place, Khan Market, Rajouri Garden, South Extension, and Defence Colony and is set to expand to other localities in the coming weeks. Sandhu had told the traffic police to involve RWAs for managing local traffic and resolving parking issues. SC refuses relief for Bengal voters removed from roll their exclusions from the voter roll are pending before the appellate tribunals. The Supreme Court said on The petitioners sought an Monday that it cannot hear order from the court directp e o p l e wh o s e a p p e a l s ing the ECI to extend the against exclusion from the date of freezing of electoral voter list are pending before rolls so that they can vote in the appellate tributhe elections, in the nals to vote in the event their appeals upcoming West Benare allowed. The gal Assembly electoral rolls are elections. frozen as on April 9. The court noted Justice Bagchi clarithat about 34 lakh fied that those whose appeals filed by peoappeals were alple challenging their lowed by April 9 non-inclusion in the would be included in We need to voter list are pendthe voter list. protect due ing before the Justice Ba gchi process rights. tribunals. also raised concerns The voter “We cannot create about the ongoing should not be a situation where we SIR process in West sandwiched burden the appellate Bengal and emphabetween two tribunal judges,” a sised that there is a constitutional bench headed by need to have a “roauthorities Chief Justice of Inbust appellate mechJustice Joymalya dia (CJI) Surya Kant anism” to consider Bagchi and Justice Joymthe appeals filed by alya Bagchi said. persons whose “We need to protect due proc- names were deleted from the ess rights. The voter should electoral rolls. He specifinot be sandwiched between cally noted that when it two constitutional authori- came to West Bengal, the ties,” Justice Bagchi said. ECI deviated from the procThe bench was hearing a ess in other states and introbatch of petitions filed by duced a new category called those whose appeals against ‘Logical Discrepancy’. SU C HIT R A K ALYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi Succession plan Adi Godrej’s son Pirojsha to take over as group chairman BENN K O C HUVEEDAN @ Mumbai TWO years after the Godrej group split between Adi Godrejled Godrej Industries Group and Jamshyd Godrej-led Godrej Enterprises Group, Godrej Industries Group on Monday announced a leadership transition. Adi Godrej’s younger brother Nadir Godrej will step down as chairman in August upon turning 75 and Adi’s son Pirojsha will take over. Nadir will assume the role of chairman emeritus, along with Adi. In a regulatory filing on Monday Godrej Industries, the hold, ing company of the Godrej Industries Group, along with Godrej Agrovet and Astec Lifesciences, announced the leadership transitions. “Nadir will step down from the boards of Godrej Industries, Godrej Agrovet, Godrej Consumer Products, and Godrej Properties by then... Nadir has also Nadir Godrej Pirojsha Godrej stepped down as chairperson and non-executive director of Astec,” it said. Pirojsha will take over as chairperson of Godrej Industries Group and Godrej Industries on August 14. He will continue to serve as chairperson of Godrej Properties, Godrej Capital, and Godrej Ventures. Nadir’s son Burjis Godrej will serve as chairperson of Godrej Agrovet and will join the board of Godrej Industries as a non-executive director from August 14. Burjis has stepped down as managing director of Astec and will contin- ue to serve on its board as a non-executive director. Godrej Industries Group, led by Adi and Nadir, consists of five listed firms—Godrej Industries, Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Properties, Godrej Agrovet, and Astec Lifesciences. Godrej Enterprises Group, led by their cousins Jamshyd and Smita Godrej Crishna, includes the unlisted flagship Godrej & Boyce and its various subsidiaries. Del-Dehradun in 2.5 hours as Modi to open e-way today Pa r v e z S u lta n @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 210km-long Delhi-Dehradun expressway a six-lane access-con, trolled corridor expected to significantly cut travel time between the two cities from around six hours to about twoand-a-half hours, on Tuesday . Built at a cost of `12,000 crore, the high-speed expressway with an operational speed , limit of 100 kmph, will begin near Akshardham Temple and pass through districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, and Saharanpur, before reaching Dehradun in Uttarakhand. The project is expected to ease congestion in parts of east and northeast Delhi as well as on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway . The inauguration will be held in Dehradun and attended by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. Ahead of the event, the PM will review the wildlife corridor near Saharanpur and visit the Jai Maa Daat Kali temple near Dehradun. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, along with MoS for Road Transport Harsh Malhotra and Northeast Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari, will attend the event virtually . The expressway features 10 interchanges, three railway overbridges, four major bridges, and 12 wayside amenities. It is equipped with an Advanced Traffic Management System aimed at improving safety as well as the traffic efficiency . Designed with ecological considerations, the project includes a 12-km elevated wildlife corridor, among the longest in Asia, along with eight animal passes, two 200-metre elephant underpasses, and a 370-metre tunnel near the Daat Kali temple in a bid to minimise human-animal conflict. Approved in 2020, the foundation stone for the project was laid by PM Modi in December 2021. Officials said the expressway will enhance regional connectivity significantly .