TUESDAY 18 AUGUST, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard AYUSH CAUSES BIG UPSET, DEFEATS WORLD NO. 1 SHI YU QI IRAN DEAL India’s Ayush Shetty causes biggest upset at the Badminton World Championships on Monday. 2019 champion PV Sindhu too enters next round | P11 TRUMP THREATENS TO BOMB OMAN Three-game thriller in first round President Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz and called for Iran to surrender. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI NEW TEAM Some of the most notable changes in the organisational reshuffle of the BJP Smriti Irani Ram Madhav Deepak Mhaskey Irani, Madhav back in core nat’l team in big BJP rejig THE BJP on Monday revamped its core national team under party president Nitin Nabin, announcing appointments to key positions including national vice-presidents, national general secretaries, and national secretaries, apart from key posts in the media and social media departments and the party’s various Morchas. The reshuffle, which comes ahead of an expected Cabinet rejig, reflects a blend of both experienced and young faces, with the average age being 50. Among the 13 national vicepresidents, three—former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Baijayant Panda and Rekha Verma—have retained their positions while 10 have been elevated or inducted from other party responsibilities. Lal Singh Arya, for instance, has been promoted to national vice-president from his earlier position as national president of the BJP’s SC Morcha. Among the most notable changes is the return of former Union minister Smriti Irani, who had been kept out of party responsibilities for several years, to an important role as a national general secretary She . joins a group that includes prominent figures Satish Poonia, Harish Dwivedi, Sunil Bansal, Vinod Tawde, Biplab Kumar Deb, among others. The 16-member group of national secretaries includes four E-rick battery blast kills two, raises concerns over safety EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi TWO people, including a 17year-old boy were killed after a , fire broke out in a residential building in West Delhi’s Raghubir Nagar early Monday following an explosion in the battery of an e-rickshaw parked outside, fire officials said. Sufaid, 17, son of building owner Mohammad Nasib, and his brother-in-law Mohammad Samid, 38, suffered injuries and were rushed to Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Fire tenders reached the spot following a call about the fire at around 4.42 am from the building, which has a ground and four upper floors. The blaze gutted domestic articles on the first floor. An assessment found that the fire started after the battery of an e-rickshaw parked outside the building exploded. The fire was brought under control by around 5.25 am. The incident has again highlighted safety concerns surrounding e-rickshaw batteries and charging infrastructure in densely populated parts of the capital. Delhi has reported several fatal incidents linked to erickshaw charging. The latest incident comes months after the government introduced mandatory 10-day training for applicants seeking licences to drive e-rickshaws and e-carts.  J8.00 PAGES 12 RSS men in top team With Ram Madhav’s return as national vice-president, four senior RSS-linked leaders are now part of the BJP’s central organisational structure. The others are B L Santhosh (national general secretaryorganisation), Shivprakash, and Saudan Singh (joint secretaries-organisation) The newly appointed team brings together organisational experience, energy and grassroots connect PM Narendra Modi women, including Irani. The others are Kavita Patidar, Phangnon Konyak, and Sangeeta Yadav. Tawde and Bansal have retained their organisational responsibilities as national general secretaries. Several established party faces, including Arun Singh, Dushyant Kumar Gautam, Tarun Chugh and Dr Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, have been dropped from the national general secretary-level organisational structure. In the rejig, several prominent faces were let go. These include IT Cell chief Amit Malviya, BJP Yuva Morcha president and Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya, Dushyant Gautam, Sanjay Mayukh, Saroj Pandey, Laxmikant Vajpayee and Arun Singh. Among the unexpected appointments is that of academic Deepak Mhaskey as the head of the BJP’s social media department, replacing Malviya. Mhaskey will head the department as convenor, assisted by Priti Gandhi, Shivanand Dwivedi, Alok Bhatt and Arun Yadav. The organisational revamp marks the return of RSS ideologue Ram Madhav to the prominent position of national vice president. His induction is being seen as a move towards strengthening coordination between the RSS and the BJP . The revamp has also sought to ensure broad geographical representation. Among the national vice-presidents, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Delhi, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka and West Bengal have received representation. The eight national general secretaries include leaders from Maharashtra, Delhi, Tripura, UP Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh , and Haryana. Union Minister Piyush Goyal has retained his position as national treasurer, while B L Santhosh continues as national general secretary (organisation), a key post in the party P8 . TWENTY-FOUR days after student protests in Jharkhand against exam irregularities, Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday blinked and agreed to their demand to cancel the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination and all exams conducted by a private agency, TSR Data Processing Pvt Ltd (TDPL) since 2014. The decision came hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote to Soren urging him to “listen to the students”. The protesting students thanked the CM for the decision but said the protest will continue as their demand for a CBI inquiry was yet to be fulfilled. Soren said a decision has also been made to cancel all exams conducted by TDPL as also all results published by it. “Today we held a special Cabi, net meeting to bring this matter to a conclusion. We have Student-protesters in a jubilant mood after the Jharkhand cabinet decided to cancel the Combined Graduate Level exam, in Ranchi on Monday; CM Hemant Soren (left) with cabinet ministers making the announcement | PTI decided to cancel all examinations conducted by TDPL, the results published by TDPL, and the selection or participation of any candidates through TDPL,” said Soren. The CM also said an exam reforms committee headed by senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal will be constituted soon. However, a new problem erupted as cancelling all exams would render around 2,000 aspirants who had cleared them without jobs. These students have begun a protest out- Over 200 Pak-backed operatives arrested ahead of I-Day, says Shah M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi MORE than 200 operatives of the Pakistan-based and ISIbacked Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN) were arrested in coordinated raids across 14 states ahead of Independence Day Home Minis, ter Amit Shah said on Monday. In a post on ‘X’, Shah described the action as an example of the Modi government’s “zero-tolerance” policy towards terrorism. According to a statement issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the mul- ti-state operation was conducted on August 12 using a realtime intelligence-sharing mechanism involving central agencies and state police forces. “Over 200 arrests were made across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Gujarat, Bihar, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala,” it said. “Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest number of arrests at 62, followed by Haryana with 52, Delhi with 51 and Punjab with 44. Rajasthan re- corded 15 arrests, Maharashtra eight and Uttarakhand five. Karnataka, Gujarat and Bihar reported three arrests each, while Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Kerala reported two each,” it said. The MHA described SBN as a Pakistan-based terror syndicate involved in grenade, IED and petrol-bomb attacks as well as targeted killings in India. Investigators said the network recruited local conduits to conduct reconnaissance of police, defence and religious installations. The National Investigation Agency is probing several cases linked to SBN chief Shahzad Bhatti. Uproar over Raj ban on photography in schools R A J E S H A S N A N I @ Jaipur A political storm has erupted in Rajasthan over an education department order restricting the entry of outsiders and requiring prior permission for photography, videography, interviews and audio recording inside government schools. Congress and Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) demanded its withdrawal, alleging the move was aimed at hiding the deficiencies in the education system. Education Minister Madan Dilawar, however, clarified on Monday that media personnel are not barred from entering government schools, but said that written permission would be required before students could be interviewed, photo- graphed or filmed. “We are responsible for safety of students. Parents’ permission is required before taking even a photograph or a byte of a minor student when he or she is at home. When children are in school, their teachers act as their guardians, and their permission is required,” Dilawar said. The clarification followed an order issued by Director of Secondary Education Lalit Kumar on Sunday evening, a day after CJP’s Ashutosh Ranka protested over the dilapidated condition of a government school in Alwar district. Under the new guidelines, access to classrooms, hostels, libraries, toilets and other student-related areas has also been restricted. LINE OF FAITH An aerial view shows queues of devotees waiting to offer prayers at the Nagchandreshwar temple on the ‘Nag Panchami’ festival in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain early on Monday | PTI Single-window system for cinematograph licences introduced E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi YAMUNA PLANS Delhi plans a Sabarmatistyle Yamuna riverfront Plans include parks, cycle tracks and sports grounds Delhi faces issues similar to those Sabarmati had 25–30 years ago Dhobi ghats may be shifted and replaced with mechanised laundries | P3 THE Delhi government has notified a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for issuing, renewing and inspecting cinematograph licences for cinema halls and multiplexes. It replaces the earlier system of separate No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from different departments with an integrated single-window process. The new system is aimed at making licencing accountable and time-bound, while reduc- 1st THE WIN WAS AYUSH’S FIRST OVER SHI IN FOUR MEETINGS Soren blinks, cancels all dodgy exams MUKESH RANJAN & PREETHA N A I R @ Ranchi/New Delhi Blend of young and experienced leaders in new team; average age 50 R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi  The 21-year-old has a habit of taking down some of the big names in world badminton like Li Shi Feng, Jonatan Christie and Kunlavut Vitidsarn before winning the Asian Championships silver. Shuttler, who hails from Karnataka defeated Shi 21-14, 13-21, 21-19, in a gripping first round men’s singles contest. ing delays and coordination issues between departments. The SOP was finalised in 2015 but was not implemented by the previous government. Under the new SOP, two committees will oversee the process. The District Licencing Committee (DLC), under the revenue department, will take the final decision on licences. It will be headed by the deputy commissioner (revenue)/district magistrate and include officers from police, fire department, engineering wings of the municipal corporation, Delhi Jal Board and District Medical Officer. SOP sets time limits for every stage Initial scrutiny of an application must be completed within seven days, DIC must conduct inspection within 45 days, and DLC must take a decision within 30 days of receiving the inspection report. Earlier, the Delhi Police Standing Orders governed cinematograph licences. Applicants had to obtain separate NOCs from police, fire department, municipal corporation, DJB, electricity distribution companies and health department. Now, the DLC takes the final decision on the basis of a joint inspection report. The second panel, the District Inspection Committee, will jointly inspect each cinema hall. It will be headed by the sub-divisional magistrate. side the state secretariat. In his pushback, minister Sudivya Kumar said candidates whose exams were cancelled by the government are free to take the legal recourse. As for student leader Devendra Mahto, who is on a hunger strike for 16 days, he said he will soon reach the protest site in Ranchi to break his fast. Leaders of JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch, however, said that not all their demands had been fulfilled and that a decision would be taken after an assessment of the CM’s announcement. Rahul had urged Soren to personally meet the student representatives and take steps to resolve the issue at the earliest. “I am writing to suggest that you personally meet representatives of the students. This will help reinforce the government’s commitment to resolve their concerns,” Rahul said. “Please do your utmost to hear them out and take appropriate action towards the resolution of this issue,” he said. Pvt N-plants: SC seeks clarity on judicial power to set relief amount S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday sought clarification from the Centre on whether courts are precluded from awarding fair and just compensation under the SHANTI Act in the event of a nuclear accident. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was hearing a petition filed by a group of retired civil servants and scientists, led by ex-bureaucrat E A S Sarma. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the batch of petitioners, argued that the SHANTI Act exempts nuclear plant suppliers from liability and caps operator liability at a level grossly disproportionate to potential damage. “Irrespective of provisions of the Act, nothing shall preclude a constitutional court from determining the amount of fair and just compensation.... Central government owes certain liability under the Act,” the CJI said. The bench issued notices to the Centre and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board seeking response. The SHANTI Act permits private firms to set up civil nuclear plants but exempts them from liability beyond `3,000 crore. The Centre’s residual liability is capped at `4,500 crore. Bhushan noted that the cost of a major nuclear accident could run into several lakh crores. EXPRESS READ Mental cruelty drove Twisha to end life: CBI The CBI on Monday filed a chargesheet against lawyer Samarth Singh and ex-district judge Giribala—husband and mother-in-law of late model Twisha Sharma—accusing them of inflicting mental cruelty on her and leaving her with no option but to end her life. P8 2 more AI pilots taken off duty after dope test Two more pilots of Air India have been grounded after they tested positive in the initial dope test. The result of the second test, is awaited. The Federation of Indian Pilots wrote to DGCA, saying Saliva test is recommended. P7