FRIDAY IN TIT-FOR-TAT, INDIA PULLS DOWN STRUCTURES OUTSIDE PAK MISSION 21 Indian authorities carried out the demolition as the structures were beyond the Pakistani high commission’s approved boundary limit AUGUST, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard MAY 2025 IS WHEN INDIA’S OP SINDOOR HIT TERROR INFRA IN PAKISTAN BANGLADESH ZIA’S ASSOCIATE BECOMES NEW PREZ Mirza Fakhrul, a longtime secretary general of Bangladesh Nationalist Party and close ally of Khaleda Zia, was on Thursday elected as Bangladesh president ILLEGAL BARRICADES OUTSIDE COMPOUND A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  J8.00  Authorities used a JCB to remove the structures and barricades erected along the lane outside the compound, including queue-management installations near the visa section. The move came after Pakistan removed parking poles outside the India mission in Islamabad this week. Visuals showed that the demolition left a trail of rubble | P4 PAGES 12 MORE HOMES, TALLER BUILDINGS, BIGGER METRO PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi The MPD 2047 would provide a roadmap to transform Delhi into an inclusive, sustainable and globally competitive city, aligned with the vision for Viksit Bharat —M L Khattar, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister incentive to encourage rental housing for students, working professionals, migrant workers and low-income groups. Workers will have a separate housing provision. The plan offers an additional 15% FAR for workers’ housing on industrial plots of 5,000 sqm and above. Delhi’s public transport network is also set for expansion. The MPD envisages a major expansion of the Delhi Metro network to around 695 km by 2047. The Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) policy has been incorporated to strengthen public transport corridors. The plan also recognises new forms of economic activity. Data centres, co-working areas and cloud kitchens constitute a new economies category . Khattar said its implementation would be more effective compared to previous master plans because there was now a triple-engine government. P3 MULTI-MODAL TRANSIT HUBS PROPOSED AT Anand Vihar Sarai Kale Khan Kashmiri Gate E AN GR D P 17 N LA FOR Delhi, Thursday brought the master plan the national capital had been waiting for since its previous Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) lapsed in 2021. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal unveiled MPD 2047, placing a major thrust on 40 lakh new residential units, with affordable housing at the core, to meet the needs of a projected population of 3.2 crore by 2047. The revised blueprint for the planned development of Delhi and its infrastructure allows greater vertical expansion, alongside changes in floor area ratio (FAR) and other building controls. One of the biggest changes is the removal of height restrictions across most parts of the city. The restrictions will remain in certain areas—the Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone, Civil Lines Bungalow Area, Connaught Place and its ing, Resident Welfare Associaextension, Zone ‘O’, covering tions will be encouraged to regthe Yamuna floodplain and the ister and adopt a redevelopment Ridge, Land Pooling Areas, framework on the lines of the Low Density Areas, and areas in-situ redevelopment policy. restricted under the Archaeo- The move is aimed at facilitatlogical Survey of India (ASI) or ing planned redevelopment and the National Monuments Au- improvement of existing resithority (NMA). dential areas. For people living in The plan also provides Master existing built-up areas, a regeneration framePlan for the plan sets out a work for eligible unauDelhi framework for renewthorised colonies 2047 al. The minimum area alongside the existing requirement for rederegularisation process. velopment has been reAffordable housing has duced from 40,000 square me- been given several provisions tres (sqm) to 3,000 sqm. This is in the blueprint. Khattar said likely to provide around seven affordable housing would be delakh additional dwelling units. veloped along High Density As part of the efforts to re- Corridors. To achieve the goal new existing built-up areas of affordable housing for all, such as group and DDA hous- the MPD proposes a 50% FAR TH The 2047 blueprint prepares city for 3.2 crore people, who will get modern urban infra, integrated mobility options and start-up exposure planning zones in Delhi, designated from A to P, except Zone I Big-box retail, ecommerce, warehousing permitted in industrial areas 1,000 SQ M commercial plots can be redeveloped Commercial activities have been permitted in all residential areas on ground floor and first floor if the roads where they are located have 30-metre right-of-way width Urban Extension Road network to be strengthened with UER-I, UER-II and UER-III to allow smother inter-state traffic movement Co-working spaces and data centres permitted to support innovation, start-up initiatives $40US GOVT Ex-SC judge Reddy to head UGC equity regulations TN DEBT OF CASTE-BASED DISCRIMINATION GOES BEYOND EXPECTATIONS Record borrowing by the Trump administration have surpassed earlier forecasts amid rising spending, leading to unprecedented levels of sovereign debt | P9 Ladakh set to get J&K High Court bench EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi THE Union territory of Ladakh will soon have a high court bench, home minister Amit Shah said on Thursday . Announcing the Union Cabinet’s decision through a post on X, Shah said the bench of Jammu and Kashmir High Court will improve access to justice in the remote Union Territory . He added that the new bench would significantly enhance access to legal services for people living in the geographically challenging region by reducing the time and distance involved in seeking judicial relief. “The government is fully committed to the all-round development of Ladakh and to ensuring constitutional safeguards,” Shah said. The proposed bench is expected to ease the difficulties faced by residents who currently have to travel long distances for matters requiring access to the high court. Ladakh’s vast mountainous terrain and limited connectivity can make such journeys difficult for those seeking legal recourse. The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court is currently a common high court for the two Union Territories. Its principal seats are located in Jammu and Srinagar. At present, the HC has a sanctioned strength of 25 judges including 19 permanent judges and six additional judges. The decision comes as part of the Centre’s broader focus on strengthening administrative and constitutional mechanisms in Ladakh and improving access to public services in the strategically important Himalayan region. Ladakh became a separate Union Territory on October 31, 2019, following the reorganisation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. panel on police excesses under review, says govt S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y A five-member high-powered committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice R Subhash Reddy will examine allegations of police excesses against student protesters in Delhi recently and violence against police personnel. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said its order on August 18, uploaded on Thursday, that the committee would also comprise former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, former Delhi High Court Judge Shalinder Kaur, former CBI director Rishi K Shukla and retired Meghalaya DGP L R Bishnoi. The bench passed the order on a batch of petitions filed by lawyer Shailendra Mani Tripathi and others challenging police excesses on Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protesters and students at Jantar Mantar on July 20. The court recommended that the panel prioritise exami- THE Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it was ‘reconsidering’ the UGC’s equity regulations, which were formulated to prevent castebased discrimination on campuses but were met with opposition from students from non-reserved categories for being excluded from protection under the regulation. They opposed Regulation 3(1)(c), which restricted caste-based discrimination as applying “only on the basis of caste or tribe” against members of SCs, STs, and OBCs. On January 29, the SC ordered the regulations to be kept in abeyance, after observing that they were vague. It questioned the need for a separate definition of ‘caste-based discrimination’ under regulation 3(1)(c), when an existing clause under 3(1)(e) already provides a broad definition of “discrimination”. The SC also questioned the exclusion of ragging from the regulations. When the matter came up on Thursday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the SC that @ New Delhi @ New Delhi Police action during the July 20 Delhi protest march | EXPRESS NO BAR TO INQUIRIES The bench said the constitution of the committee shall not debar police authorities from taking disciplinary action against any of their officers found to be in contravention of rules governing their conduct nation of alleged police excesses as well as violence on the part of protesters and allegations of harassment and molestation of women agitators. The panel may also examine issues pertaining to the grant of interim compensation to those injured on either side, the court added. The court added that the panel’s work will R Subhash Reddy, Former SC judge Bank official kills wife, sister & then shoots self N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow A double murder and suicide case rocked Lucknow on Thursday when a 38-year-old SBI field manager allegedly shot dead his wife and sister before killing himself. According to police, Manas Vajpayee first went to his wife Divya Mishra’s office in Gomti Nagar, called her outside, spoke to her briefly and allegedly shot her. He then fled the spot. Divya, 33, an ICICI Bank employee, was taken to Lohia Hospital by her colleagues, where doctors declared her dead on arrival, police said. Manas then returned to his home, where he allegedly shot his sister, Shiva Vajpayee, 28, dead before shooting himself. Dr Diksha Sharma, DCPEast, said, “The police had received information of a woman being shot at in Gomti Nagar. On reaching the spot, the police WhatsApp status Before killing himself, Manas Vajpayee posted a WhatsApp status saying he had killed his wife and sister. Police are probing the circumstances surrounding the deaths. were told that the woman’s husband shot her. Soon after, the police received information about a man who had killed his sister and committed suicide by shooting himself. It was verified that he was the same man, Manas Vajpayee. A WhatsApp status on his phone defines the incident. Three weapons were recovered from his house.” Manas and Divya had been married for 12 years. The couple had no children and had been living separately for more than a year. Divya had filed for divorce last year, sources said. not be a one-time exercise, but a continuous assessment of iss u e s f l a g g e d by by t h e petitioners. “This HPEC has been constituted bearing in mind a wide variety of considerations, including the individual expertise and experience of each of its members, as well as the diversity of the Committee, among other factors. We are confident that the committee will be able to undertake a comprehensive assessment of all such issues as merit due contemplation,” the bench said. EXPRESS READ US envoy’s Ladakh visit seen as China message US ambassador Sergio Gor visited Ladakh on Thursday. It came a day after his stay in Srinagar. While his Jammu and Kashmir visit was seen as a message to Pakistan, the Ladakh visit has enthused China watchers | P7 Assam, Meghalaya CMs commit to restore peace Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday held talks on violence in Shillong on August 19. They agreed to work for peace. Violence had erupted during a students’ bike rally, which hurt Assam vehicle owners. Python tries to enter Vande Bharat Express A 10-foot python caused panic at Haridwar railway station on Thursday when it attempted to slither into Vande Bharat Express. The railway staff spotted it near the train’s undercarriage around noon. A forest department team managed to rescue the reptile. HEARING AFTER 4 WEEKS The bench did not consider any arguments on Thursday, and adjourned the hearing by four weeks, by which time the UGC should file a comprehensive affidavit. The petitioners may file rejoinder, if any, within two weeks thereafter the Union government was actively reconsidering the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations 2026. Mehta requested the bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana to defer the formulation of questions to be determined until the process is over. Taking into record Mehta’s submissions, the court asked the UGC to file a counter affidavit within four weeks. Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the mothers of Rohit Vemula and Payal Tadvi, who died by suicide due to caste discrimination, sought a timeline for Centre’s decision. SC suggests deferring of three-language policy for Class 6 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Thursday said there is nothing wrong in introducing CBSE’s threelanguage policy, under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, but the only concern was about the manner in which the reform was being initiated. The court was hearing a batch of pleas challenging CBSE’s policy mandating studying three languages, including two native Indian languages, for Class 9 students from July 1. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana sought CBSE’s view on whether the third language should begin in Class 6 or from Classes 3-4, and asked the board to lay out a roadmap. “There is no doubt that sooner or later, it has to be introduced. There is nothing wrong with that. But how it is to be streamlined ...you may find a solution to those,” the bench told Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, for Centre, and fixed next hearing after two weeks. “If you have chosen Class 6 as starting point, you may consider a reprieve to Class 6 this year. You can introduce it from next year,” it said. “Another thing which needs to be looked into is where do you draw the line. Whether it is Class 6, Class 4 or Class 3... we don’t want children to come under any pressure.” The bench said learning any language is something invaluable. “Let us not have any impression of inferiority complex with respect to regional languages...should respect all these languages.” JADAVPUR UNIV TENSE AFTER CLASHES BETWEEN ABVP, LEFT UNIONS The Nandalal Bose-designed emblem of Jadavpur University, a symbol of the institution’s pride, became a victim of student rage in Thursday’s violent clash | P8 Amit Shah moots Brahmaputra, Godavari, Cauvery inter-linking EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai UNION home minister Amit Shah on Thursday made a grand pitch for linking major rivers, including the Brahmaputra in the Northeast, with the Cauvery and Godavari in Peninsular India, saying such an initiative could ensure that India faces no water shortage for the next 100 years. Chairing the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council here, Shah said protecting the interests of individual states was not wrong, but questioned the rationale of states remaining deprived of water for years while surplus water elsewhere flowed into the sea. He said river-linking could help overcome such situations and also facilitate the creation of multiple waterways, reducing fuel consumption, benefiting the environment and providing a cost-effective system States agreed to the suggestion to resolve pending water disputes in the South through dialogue and a positive approach Amit Shah Dropout rate Shah urged states to cut the national school dropout rate from 9.5% to below 3%, and address malnutrition and stunting TN CM Joseph Vijay greets home minister Amit Shah at Kovalam of transportation. Stating that the southern states have been the main pillars of India’s progress, Shah said, “Whether it is agriculture, industry, healthy citizens or the environment, water is the soul of this region in all these four areas.” As for inter-state water disputes in the North, he said five of the eight issues had persisted since the pre-British era. An agreement was finally reached five months ago, resolving all issues from Kashmir to UP Shah called for the early resolution of pend. ing water-related issues in the South through joint meetings of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Home Affairs, Inter-State Council and the concerned states. All states accepted the suggestion.