Spadex Mission Achieves Maiden Undocking, next docking in April FRIDAY 14 Indian Space Research Organisation recorded its first successful undocking as part of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission MARCH, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard The Morning Standard wishes its readers a 460 KM Our office will remain closed today and there will be no issue of the paper on Saturday A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 ABOVE EARTH, THE TWO MINI SATELLITES WERE SUCCESSFULLY SEPARATED PAVES WAY FOR CRUCIAL FUTURE MISSIONS The two light weight satellites, SDX-01 (the chaser) and SDX-02 (target) successfully separated almost a month-and-a-half after it was scheduled to be achieved. With this success, ISRO is now bracing for its future missions — Chandrayaan-4, Bhartiya Antriksh Mission, manned space mission Gaganyaan, and Man on Moon mission | P5 Stalin emerges as the anchor of Opposition unity Telangana & Karnataka govts, BRS, YSRCP, BJD to attend Chennai meet on delimitation P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Revanth to consult party brass Telangana CM Revanth Reddy said he would attend the Chennai meet after taking permission from the high command. A DMK delegation led by minister K N Nehru met him in Delhi on Thursday and extended an invitation Siddu to send DKS for event WITH several political parties extending support to the DMK government in Tamil Nadu in its fight over the proposed delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, Chief Minister M K Stalin appears to be emerging as the voice that binds the non-BJP parties on the issue. Congress-ruled Telangana and Karnataka governments, Opposition BRS in Telangana, former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik’s BJD, and former Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP are some of the parties that have confirmed their participation in a meeting convened by Stalin on March 22. Spearheaded by Stalin, the coming together of political parties is widely seen as a show of Opposition unity against ‘delimitation’. On Thursday Telangana CM Revanth Reddy said , he would attend the Chennai meeting after taking permission from the Congress high command. “I welcome M K Stalin’s stand. I have to get permission from the Congress high command to attend the meeting. In principle, I have agreed to attend,” Reddy told reporters. Earlier this month, Stalin had written to the chief ministers of seven states, including Reddy to , form a joint action committee against the delimitation exercise. The Chennai meeting is seen as a first step towards ‘unified action’ against any move by the Centre to implement delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies in a manner that will cut down the representation of states that have successfully implemented population control. Though the BRS in Telangana keeps a distance from both the Congress and the BJP BRS leader K , T Rama Rao on Thursday confirmed it will attend the meeting. A DMK delegation also extended an invitation to Andhra Pradesh’s ruling TDP and a key ally of the NDA government. According to sources, the party said that it will discuss the matter with CM Chandrababu Naidu and take a call. Delegations of DMK leaders met K’taka CM Siddaramaiah, former AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy and BJD’s Naveen Patnaik, who assured their support. Siddu deputed Deputy CM D K Shivakumar for the Chennai meeting RUPEE SYMBOL AXED Intensifying the language showdown, the TN govt on Thursday replaced the Devanagari rupee symbol with a Tamil letter in its logo for tomorrow’s TN budget | P5 Prez nod to lodge FIR against Sisodia, Jain in `1.3K cr classroom scam E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi TROUBLES appeared to have compounded for AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, who held ministerial positions in the Arvind Kejriwal-led government, as President Droupadi Murmu has given her nod to register an FIR against them in a case relating to scam of `1,300 crore in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools. In official communications to the office of L-G of the NCT of Delhi, the President through the Ministry of Home Af fairs (MHA), said that the required permission to register an FIR and institute a probe against former education minister Manish Sisodia and ex-PWD minister Satyendar Jain is granted. Earlier, the Directorate of Vigilance (DoV) of the Delhi government had recommended a probe into the alleged classroom construction scam and submitted a report to the chief secretary of the NCT government of Delhi. In its report to the Delhi chief secretary, the DoV had also rec- THE CASE In April 2015, former CM Arvind Kejriwal directed construction of additional classrooms in Delhi government schools. The PWD was entrusted with the task of constructing 2,405 classrooms in 193 schools. But after a survey, the PWD projected a requirement of 7,180 classrooms in 194 schools. ommended “fixing the responsibilities of the concerned officials of the education department and PWD who were involved in the alleged bungling of `1,300 crore”. It had also recommended forwarding its findings along with the replies of PWD and the education department to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for consideration. The CVC, in a report dated February 17, 2020, had highlighted irregularities. PLAYING WITH COLOUR Children celebrate Holi, a day ahead of the festival, in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru on Thursday | PTI House panel says 23 Yamuna sites fail water quality test E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi THE parliamentary panel on water resources has said that the Yamuna ability to sustain life has been found to be nearly nonexistent in the Delhi stretch. The report, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday has said 23 of the 33 , monitored sites, including six in the city failed to meet basic wa, ter quality standard. The Yamuna river flows through a 40-km stretch in Delhi, entering from Palla in Haryana and exiting at Asgarpur into Uttar Pradesh. Calling for a coordinated response from all stakeholders to address pollution and restore the river’s health, the report on the Upper Yamuna River Cleaning Project and riverbed management in Delhi warned that pollution levels remain alarmingly high despite the construction of sewage treatment plants in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The Central Pollution Control Board, along with state pollution control boards, assessed water quality at 33 locations between January 2021 and May 2023. The assessment focused on four parameters — Dissolved Oxygen (DO), pH, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, and Fecal Coliform. DO levels indicate the river’s ability to sustain life. The panel has raised concerns over encroachment along the Yamuna floodplains. It has said 22 drains discharge untreated sewage The parliamentary committee has highlighted the failure to treat domestic sewage, pointing out that nearly 22 major drains discharge untreated sewage directly into the Yamuna. Pricey Starlink to target niche customers in India R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi ELON Musk-led Starlink may target niche customers in India due to its pricing, which is significantly higher than the services provided by Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. According to a report by Bernstein, Starlink’s satellite technology offers advantages in remote areas but its high cost and potential speed variability make it less attractive to consumers in urban and semi-urban regions, where Airtel and Jio provide affordable and reliable broadband services. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have recently announced separate partnerships with Starlink to offer broadband services in India. Both companies have said services will commence only after Starlink receives approval from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Industry insiders say the DoT may grant a licence to the Musk-led company soon. In fact, Union Elon Musk minister for Elec- that the DDA retrieved 477.79 hectares from encroachments along the floodplains. However, some parts remain occupied due to ongoing litigation. The panel has noted that no data is available on unauthorised industrial units that may be discharging untreated effluents into the Yamuna. It has recommended that the government conduct a study to identify such units and strengthen pollution control measures. COSTLY AFFAIR Starlink Bharti Airtel Rel Jio Speed (mbps) 50-200 100 200 100 200 Initial upfront 52,242 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 fees (J) Per month 10,469 799 999 699 999 fees (J) Tax and 30 18 18 18 18 levies (%) Total annual 2,15,600 12,314 15,146 10,898 15,146 price (J) tronics & IT Ashwini Vaishnaw welcomed Starlink to India through a social media post on Wednesday night. However, the minister later deleted the post. Meanwhile, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is yet to release its recommendations on the pricing and other modalities for satellite broadband. Reports suggest that the telecom regulator plans to recommend satellite broadband spectrum be allotted for five years instead of 20 years to assess initial market adoption. B’luru to host BJP natl executive council meet R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi THE BJP is likely to hold its National Executive Council meeting in Bengaluru between April 18 and 20, sources said. According to party insiders, the decision to hold the meeting in Bengaluru carries significant symbolism for the BJP’s Mission South project. “This could indicate the party’s shift in electoral strategy towards Buzz on South India, with a focused effort on sonew prez lidifying its base in states like Karnataka, where the Congress is in power now,” a The meeting is expected to senior BJP leader told this paper. Also on the agenda is announcing a new pass a couple of resolutions, party president, sources said, adding that in addition to the new chief may be from South India, adding that female leaders may have an deliberating edge, in line with the party’s policy of proon and moting women’s participation in politics potentially — from organisational roles to announcing the new party governance. BJP’s Andhra unit chief Daggubati president Purandeswari is among the women leaders being considered. The other names doing the rounds include Union ministers Manohar Lal Khattar, Bhupendra Yadav and Dharmendra Pradhan. Also in the race are Dr Sudha Yadav, Vinod Tawde, Tarun Chugh, and Arun Kumar. There is also speculation about Sarbananda Sonowal and Kiren Rijiju, along with Sanjay Joshi and Ram Madhav being considered for the top party post. BJP likely to name senior officials as advisers to 6 cabinet ministers A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi THE BJP leadership is considering appointing six senior officials as advisers or OSDs to monitor the decisions made by the ministers in the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government. The six cabinet ministers will also get a senior DANICS officer each as their secretary . The party considers it of primary importance to fulfill the poll promises made to the electorate, and the new government must be able to overcome challenges in ensuring development and providing governance. The CMO has already got one secretary and two special secretaries. According to the order released by the Services Department on February 27, L-G V K Saxena posted Madhu Rani Teotia (2008-batch IAS) as secretary to the CM, while Sandeep Kumar Singh (2011-batch IAS) and Ravi Jha (also, 2011-batch IAS) became special secretaries to the CM. Previously, former CM Arwind Kejriwal had attached several party men to each minister— one as OSD and the rest in smaller capacities. As a result, these party functionaries clogged the secretariat floors housing the ministers’ offices. The Congress governments under Sheila Dikshit did not have such a practice. Dikshit had the support of the bureaucracy and her governance model , worked without hiccups. Policy directive out to launch Nuclear Energy Mission R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @New Delhi THE Centre has issued a policy directive to launch the Nuclear Energy Mission (NEM) as part of the country’s energy transition efforts. The mission focuses on research and development of new reactor designs and technologies. To achieve this, the government will allow private investors and sectors to participate in large-scale deployments of existing technologies. In response to a query in the Lok Sabha, Dr Jitendra examining aspects such Singh, MoS for Personas building, owning, and nel, Public Grievances, operating nuclear power Pensions and the PMO, plants by private sector; said NEM necessitates nuclear safety, security, capacity building, and to safeguards, fuel procurefacilitate partnerships ment/fabrication, waste with the private sector, management, and spent Jitendra Singh amendments to the fuel reprocessing,” the Atomic Energy Act and minister added. the Civil Liability for Nuclear The government also plans to Damage Act are being pursued. partner with the private sector to Dr Singh said a task force has set up Bharat Small Reactors been set up to review these (BSR), with NPCIL floating a Reamendments. “The task force is quest-for-Proposal to private in- dustries. These reactors will be commissioned and operated by NPCIL but set up with private capital. “With ... private investment, it is expected that the strategy for scaling up the nuclear sector will send a strong signal to participate and plan for capacity and infrastructure expansion for nuclear-related projects...,” the minister said. The government is also working towards making Nuclear Power Projects eligible for climate finance, he added. 78 babus rejigged in major reshuffle The Services Dept on Thursday issued orders transferring 78 senior officials. The most striking change took place at the CMO, where 30 DANICS and Delhi Secretariat Service officials got rejigged. Among the depts seeing highest number of transfers are General Administration, Excise, Home, Health, and Vigilance. P4 EXPRESS READ Ayushman Bharat launch likely on Mar 18 The Delhi government is likely to roll out the Centre’s flagship Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. An MoU between the Delhi government and the Centre may be signed on March 18. Delhi will become the 35th state/UT to implement the scheme. P3