MONDAY AFTER CHAOS, 22 VISA SEPTEMBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in The Trump administration has clarified that the new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas is a one-time payment applicable only to new petitions and does not apply to current visa holders, providing a huge relief for thousands of concerned professionals working in the US, including from India facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard UK, AUS & CANADA RECOGNISE PALESTINIAN STATE The UK, Australia and Canada formally recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday, prompting an angry response from Israel PAGE 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  A U-TURN White House clarifies visa fee only for newbies H-1B petitions submitted before the effective proclamation date of September 21 are not affected. Those visa holders currently outside the US also do not need to pay the fee for re-entering the country White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said those who already hold H-1B visas and are outside US won’t be charged $100,000 to re-enter; they can leave and re-enter the country as earlier | P7 PAGES 12 On a wheel and a prayer: Afghan teen stowaway survives flight to Delhi Globally, only one in five wheel well fliers survive Survival for wheel well stowaways are exceptionally rare due to hypoxia (oxygen deprivation), hypothermia, frostbite, and mechanical hazards like being crushed by retracting gear or falling during landing. Globally, 1 in 5 of all attempts surive S L A L I T H A @ New Delhi The Airbus A340 that landed in New Delhi Sunday with a stowaway | KAM AIR Only second such instance at Indian airports Sunday’s stowaway incident appears to be only the second recorded instance at an Indian airport. On October 14, 1996, brothers Pradeep Saini (22) and Vijay Saini (19) stowed away on a Boeing 747 flight of British Airways from Delhi to London. Randeep survived while Vijay was found dead when the flight reached Heathrow airport IN a daring but reckless act, a 13-year-old boy from Afghanistan clandestinely stowed away on a flight to India on Sunday by hiding in the rear wheel well of an aircraft. The teenager survived the 94minute journey and ‘landed’ safely at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport in stable physical condition, four sources familiar with the incident told this newspaper. The incident occurred on flight RQ4401, operated by Afghanistan’s KAM Air. According to flightradar24. com, the Airbus A340 departed Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul at 8:46 am IST and landed at Terminal 3 at 10:20 am. A security source said the boy clad in a kurta and py, jama, intended to sneak into Iran but boarded the wrong flight. The teenager admitted to tailgating passengers at Kabul airport to access the flight, then hid in the wheel well during boarding. “This raises serious concerns about the security screening processes at Kabul airport,” the source noted. The incident came to light when a ground handler at T3 taxiway spotted the boy walking in the restricted apron area, after the flight landed and passengers had disembarked. He alerted authorities. PRESS CLUSIVE The Central Industrial Security Force took the boy into custody and later handed him over , to airport police. As a minor, the boy is immune from legal charges, a source confirmed. An aviation expert described the act as perilous, noting that survival outside the aircraft during flight is nearly impossible, while a doctor stressed on the improbability of surviving such extreme conditions. Aviation expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan explained how the boy could have survived: “After takeoff, the wheel bay door opens, the wheel retracts, and the door closes. He likely entered this enclosed space, which may have been pressurized, maintaining a temperature similar to the passenger cabin. He could have clung to internal structures to survive.” Without such conditions, survival at 30,000 feet, where temperatures plummet, would be impossible, he added. Dr Ritin Mohindra, associate professor at PGIMER, Chandigarh, echoed this view, stating, “Above 10,000 feet, oxygen levels drop significantly, causing unconsciousness within minutes and death as the plane reaches cruising altitude. Temperatures between -40°C and -60°C would cause frostbite in under a minute and fatal hypothermia soon after.” Shun foreign goods, turn to Indian for country’s prosperity: PM Modi Says across-the-board support for made-in-India products, GST reforms will push growth RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR GST 2.0 from today @ New Delhi AMID persisting concerns over souring trade ties with the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to shun foreign products and instead use swadeshi (made-in-India) goods to boost India’s growth. A massive swadeshi push, along with the GST reforms that kick in from Monday will accelerate , India’s growth story he said. , “Today, knowingly or unknowingly many foreign things , have become a part of our daily lives, and we are not even aware of it. We do not even know whether the comb in our pocket is foreign or Indian. We will have to get rid of these also. We should buy goods that are made in India, in which the hard work of our youth, the sweat of Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the nation on Sunday | PTI our sons and daughters are involved,” Modi said in his address to the nation on the eve of the auspicious Navaratri. The PM’s speech comes amid inconclusive trade talks with the US and a day after Washington introduced an unprecedented $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. Modi said homes and shops should become ‘symbols of Starting Monday, prices of about 375 items ranging from kitchen staples to electronics, medicines and equipment to automobiles will get cheaper as reduced GST rates come into effect. Auto majors and FMCG firms have already announced reduction in prices in view of GST rationalisation swadeshi’, adding that it is a big step for aatmanirbhar Bharat. “Every shop has to be decorated with swadeshi products. Say with pride that this is Swadeshi, say with pride, I buy Swadeshi, I also sell Swadeshi goods… this should become the attitude of every Indian,” he said. Urging states to create a con- ductive atmosphere for investment, he said India can be selfreliant only if the states and the Centre work together. With the new, reduced GST rates coming into effect on Monday Modi said the reforms , will enhance people’s savings and give further momentum to the Swadeshi pitch. Noting that everyday essentials are more affordable under the revised tax structure, he termed the GST reforms bachat utsav (savings festival), adding that that each and everyone stands to benefit. Recalling that India took its first steps towards GST reforms in 2017, Modi highlighted that for decades, citizens and traders were entangled in a complex web of taxes. “But now One Nation One Tax has been made through GST,” he added. K’taka BC panel begins caste survey today amid opposition from ministers D E V A R A J B H I R E H A L L I @ Bengaluru AMID strong opposition from some ministers, Opposition parties and religious heads, the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes is all set to begin the SocioEconomic and Educational Survey-2025 from Monday by masking 33 Hindu castes with the Christian religion identity from the mobile application developed for the survey . Gover nor Thaawarchand Gehlot too had raised concerns following a representation by a BJP delegation and had written to CM Siddaramaiah, pointing EXPRESS READ Teen nabbed for kidnap, murder of four-year-old A teenager was apprehended Sunday for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a four-year-old boy in Central Delhi’s Anand Parbat area. The teen, a 15-yearold school dropout, said he had abducted the kid and thrown him off a cliff in revenge after being scolded by his father. | P3 Gangster held with illegal arms in Bihar An STF of the Bihar police on Sunday arrested a notorious gangster Raees Khan—who is an active member of Chirag Paswanled Lok Janshakti Party (RV)—and his three associates during raids at their hideouts in Siwan. Illegal weapons and live cartridges of AK-47 assault rifles were seized during a five-hour long operation. out that the inclusion of castes with the Christian tag would create unrest in the society . On Saturday, the commission stated, “Because of the confusion and spread of wrong information, the names of castes have been deactivated from the list. But there is an option for those willing to register voluntarily .” This means castes like Akkasaliga Christian (code A-0020), Brahmana Christian (A-0217), Kuruba Christian (A-0810), Vokkaliga Christian (A-1542) and Vysya Brahmana Christian (A-1545) will not be registered. But those willing to identify with whichever caste, including the 33 that have been masked and those beyond that, they can do so by opting for the ‘others’ column with the specific entry But they will not be . included in the list of 1,528 castes, the commission said. The survey spanning 16 days, , ending on October 7, will cover over 7 crore population of the state. After analysing data, the commission with the help of experts, including for mer chairpersons, is likely to submit the report to the government for further action by December 2025. The government could then tweak the categories and redistribute quota based on the findings of the report. INDIA RISE TO OCCASION India’s Abhishek Sharma (L) and Shubman Gill during the Super Fours match of the Asia Cup against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday. The duo put on a partnership of 105 runs to help the Men in Blue win the much-anticipated tie by six wickets | AFP | P11 Ex-Delhi cricketer Manhas surprise pick as BCCI chief F I R O Z M I R Z A @ Chennai SEPT 30 ECI SETS STAGE FOR NATIONWIDE SIR The Election Commission of India has asked its state election officers to be ready for the SIR by September 30, signalling that the poll body could launch the voter list cleanup exercise as early as October-November | P7 THIS could be the first time a Jammu-born cricketer is set to hold the Indian cricket board’s (BCCI) top post. Former Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir player Mithun Manhas is set to take over as BCCI president during the annual general meeting scheduled at its headquarters in Mumbai this upcoming Sunday Manhas, who is currently . a member of a BCCI-formed sub-committee running cricket in J&K, filed his nomination in Mumbai this Sunday, taking cricket fraternity by surprise. However, his name was doing the rounds within a close BCCI circle for some time. “A new body is being made for the next term. Mithun Manhas is a former player and it was decided to make him the president. Arun Dhumal is the chairman of the IPL governing council and he will continue in that position,” BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla told journalists in Mumbai. Apart from Manhas, incumbent BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia filed his nomination for the same post while Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) president and former India cricketer Raghuram Bhat filed the nomination for treasurer’s post. Existing treasurer Prabhtej Bhatia will replace Rohan Gauns Desai as the joint secretary Besides, Ra. jeev Shukla will be vice president and Saurashtra Cricket Association president Jaydev Shah will replace Dilip Vengsarkar in the Apex Council. “I have been the secretary for the last few months, my colleagues wanted me to file the nominations so I did,” Saikia said. He said the Indian team for the two-Test series against the West Indies will be picked in a couple of days. “The team will be picked on September 23 or 24. The selection meeting will be held online,” Saikia said. Manhas, 45, played age group cricket for J&K before shifting to Delhi. He had played 157 FirstClass, 130 List A and 91 T20s. The former right hand batter and of f break bowler hails from Bhaderwah tensil of Doda district in J&K and He has also played for Chennai Super Kings, Pune Warriors and Delhi Capitals before working as batting consultant for Bangladesh U19 men’s team and IPL franchises from Punjab, Bengaluru and Gujarat. P11 Gurugram landfill triggers environmental hazards, says NGT J I T E N D R A C H O U B E Y @ New Delhi THE Bandhwari Landfill site, one of the largest waste dumping sites in the Delhi-NCR region, located in Gurugram, has become a significant source of uncontrolled leachate discharge contaminating nearby forests, agricultural land, and water bodies, according to the National Green Tribunal (NGT). A joint inspection team from the NGT submitted a report highlighting serious environmental concerns and violations at the landfill site. Leachate is a contaminated liquid generated from a solid waste disposal site through unpaved (kutcha) drains and concrete pipes. A petition was filed in the NGT alleging that leachate from the landfill is flowing onto the roads in nearby villages and for- ests in the absence of a proper drainage system for over a year. In response, the green panel formed a joint inspection team that included the Member Secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Regional Office of CPCB, and representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in Chandigarh to inspect the site. During the inspection, the team found that leachate was overflowing on the landfill premises through temporary kutcha drains, and was not confined to the road or nearby villages. Further observations revealed that there was no impermeable lining in place for three leachate storage ponds, which increases the risk of groundwa- ter contamination. The team also noted lack of arrangements to measure the quantity of leachate generated with no treatment facilities at the site. Additionally, representatives of sewage treatment plants (STPs) did not provide necessary documentation to assess whether these plants were complying with previous NGT orders regarding parameters such as pH, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and faecal coliform. Ruchika Sethi Takkar, a member of the citizen group Citizens for Clean Air, said, “The NGT-appointed inspection team report on Gurugram’s Bandhwari Landfill crisis exposes systemic failures in implementing SWM Rules 2016.” “The municipality continues with flawed transportation- based models and C&T contracts. We need urgent wardlevel processing and sustainable waste resource recovery plans now,” she added. The principal bench of the NGT, consisting of Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Dr A Senthil Vel, will hear the case on October 27. Over the years, the landfill has faced criticism for frequent fires, groundwater pollution, and encroachment in the ecologically sensitive Aravalli Range. Originally designed to handle around 1,200 tonnes of waste daily, it currently receives approximately 2,000 tonnes each day A study . conducted in 2025 found that about 25% of the total waste comprises which and enters the landfill, which increases its size and fire risk. UPHILL NO RESPITE FROM MOUNTAIN OF TRASH A towering symbol of city’s waste crisis, the Bhalswa landfill has long been a source of environmental and health concerns. Despite repeated promises of cleanup, progress has been slow, thanks to bureaucratic delays | P4