SATURDAY 25 OCTOBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard MODI OBLIQUELY ENDORSES NITISH AS BIHAR CHIEF MINISTER CANDIDATE R E A G A N TA R I F F A D US ENDS CANADA TRADE TALKS President Trump doubled down on ending trade talks with Canada over an anti-tariff ad campaign, as PM Mark Carney sought to downplay the rupture. PAGE 9 PM Narendra Modi on Friday said the National Democratic Alliance under the leadership of Nitish Kumar will script a record win in Bihar polls PM’S STATEMENT COMES AFTER TEJASHWI JIBE A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 India-US trade deal to be inked very soon: Govt Unified traffic command back in police rejig N I T I N R A W AT @ New Delhi THE Delhi government on Friday announced the transfer and posting of many senior IPS officers in key areas, including crime, intelligence, vigilance, traffic, and special units. Restoring a unified command structure for traffic management in Delhi after nearly five years, 1994-batch IPS officer Neeraj Thakur has been appointed Special CP (Traffic), says an official notification. While Devesh Chandra Srivastava got additional charge of perception management and media cell division, Anil Shukla will be Special CP (Special Cell). Robin Hibu, a 1993 batch officer, who was posted as Special Commissioner of Police (public transport safety division), has been given Human Resource Division, 1994 batch officer Rajesh Khurana assigned provision and finance department, while his batch mate Neeraj Thakur has been transferred from provision and finance division to traffic. Ajay Chaudhry, a 1996-batch officer who was serving as Special CP (Traffic Zone-II), has been appointed Special CP (Vigilance Division) with additional charge of Special Police Unit for Women and Children. P4  Modi’s statement indirectly endorsing Nitish as the NDA’s CM face comes a day after RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Opposition INDIA bloc’s CM candidate, had claimed that the BJP would not let Nitish become CM again. Modi’s stance is different from Union home minister Amit Shah’s recent remark that the NDA would decide on CM after the elections | P8 Negotiations concluded, both sides working on the language of the bilateral agreement P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi KURNOOL BUS TRAGEDY 20 CHARRED BUS HIT A BIKE AND DRAGGED IT ALONG, SPARKS IGNITED THE DEADLY FIRE One of the survivors recuperating at a govt hospital in Kurnool | EXPRESS Twenty people, including two children and a biker, were charred to death, and several others injured when an AC sleeper bus from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught fire on NH 44 near Chinnatekuru village in Kurnool district around 3 am Friday | P5 Taliban to build dam CENTRE to limit water to Pak DEBUNKS ‘FORCIBLE EVICTION’ CHARGES weeks after deadly clashes along the Durand Line between IN a move that could have far- Afghan and Pakistani border reaching consequences for Pa- forces, which left several dead kistan’s already strained water and heightened diplomatic fricand energy security, Afghani- tion. Relations between the two stan’s Taliban government has countries deteriorated in resaid it will build a series of cent months, with Islamabad dams on the Kunar River. accusing Kabul of harbouring Taliban’s announceTehrik-i-Taliban Pakiment comes on the stan militants. heels of India’s deciThe Kunar River, sion in April to suspend known as the Chitral in the Indus Waters TreaPakistan, originates ty with Pakistan followfrom the Chiantar glaing the Pahalgam tercier near the Gilgitror attack and signals Baltistan-Chitral borKabul’s determination d e r. I t fl ow s i n t o to assert its ‘water Afghanistan at Arandu sovereignty’. before merging with According to Af- Afghanistan has the Kabul River in ghanistan’s Ministry Nangarhar Province, the right to of Information, Tali- manage natural which eventually joins ban Supreme Leader resources for the the Indus River near Mawlawi Hibatullah benefit of people Attock in Pakistan. Akhundzada has orThis network is vital Muhajer Farahi, dered the Ministry of for irrigation, hydroAfghanistan’s Water and Energy to deputy information power, and drinking begin dam construcwater across Pakiminister tion on Kunar “as fast s t a n’s K hy b e r Pa as possible” and award khtunkhwa and Puncontracts to domestic firms. jab provinces. Any reduction in “The directive reflects Af- flow could have cascading efghanistan’s right to manage its fects across Pakistan’s agriculnatural resources for the ben- tural and energy sectors. efit of its people,” Deputy MinIf Kabul walks the talk, Pakiister of Information Muhajer stan could face a squeeze on its Farahi said in a post on X. rivers from India in the east The decision comes just and Afghanistan in the west. J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi Congress leader Udit Raj alleged authorities forcibly evicted his family from their Pandara Park house, though the govt said they overstayed and owed `21L in dues. | P3 DESPITE geopolitical challenges, India and the US are close to concluding a bilateral trade deal, a commerce ministry official said on Friday adding ma, jor differences have been ironed out and both sides are now on the same page on most matters. “We are very near as far as the deal is concerned,” said the official while disclosing that both countries are now working on the language of the trade deal. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who is in Germany for the Berlin Global Dialogue, had on Thursday said the trade talks were progressing well with both the sides working towards a fair and equitable deal. Speaking to Doordarshan in Berlin, Goyal said, “We are in dialogue with the US; our teams are engaged. We recently had the commerce secretary visit the US and meet his counterparts. We continue to engage with them and talks are progressing. We hope to work towards a fair and equitable agreement in the near future.” However, he reiterated that India “does not do deals with deadlines or with a gun to its head”. So far, India and the US have completed five rounds of talks. A team of Indian delegates from headed by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal visited Washington last week. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump met in February a target , was set to negotiate a bilateral trade deal by November. However, relations soured as Trump announced a 50% tariff on Indian goods from August onwards as a penalty for buying Russian oil. A US delegation’s visit to India was also cancelled. However, both sides continued talks. The momentum was restored when Brendan Lynch, assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia, met Indian officials in New Delhi. The proposed pact aims to double the bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. While the US remained India’s largest trading partner, merchandise exports to the US fell 20% to $5.43 billion in September from $6.87 billion in August. Reliance to comply with US sanctions Reliance Industries Ltd, India’s largest buyer of Russian oil and most impacted by the latest US sanctions, on Friday said it will comply with all applicable restrictions and will adjust its refinery operations to meet compliance requirements. A company spokesperson said RIL is “currently assessing the implications” of the latest sanctions on two Russian oil giants—one of which has a crude oil supply agreement with RIL P10 RAPED, HARASSED Doc names cops in palm note, ends life S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai A 28-year old woman doctor working at a government hospital in Phaltan in Satara district of Maharashtra died by suicide late on Thursday night and left a seven-line note on her palm, blaming two police inspectors for her harassment, torture and sexual exploitation. In the note, the doctor accused police sub-inspector Gopal Badane of raping her five times while police inspector Prashant Bankar harassed and mentally tortured her for four months. The note that was spotted during autopsy has been sent for forensic analysis. The victim had briefed her seniors about the harassment but could not get justice; hence she allegedly hanged herself in a hotel room near the Phaltan hospital. District police superintendent Tushar Doshi said a case has been registered against Badane and Bankar, and both placed under suspension. They are absconding. The victim’s relatives accused Badane and his associates of pressuring the doctor to alter medical reports on unnatural deaths and modify reports when arrested persons were brought to the hospital for a medical test. Besides, “one of members of Parliament and his personal assistant (PA) are also responsible for her death. The PA used to call her up and force her to tamper with autopsy reports. Her earlier complaints to seniors went unaddressed,” her brother alleged. IS module planning city strikes busted N I T I N R A W AT & A N U R A A G S I N G H @ New Delhi/Bhopal DELHI Police has arrested two alleged ISIS operatives from Delhi and Madhya Pradesh who were planning terror attacks in the national capital during the festive season. The module also ran social media channels to recruit youth by circulating edited jihadi videos, officials said. The accused are Mohammad Adnan Khan, 19, of Sadiq Nagar, Delhi, and Adnan Khan, 20, of Bhopal. Mohammad Adnan admitted taking the Bay’ah (pledge of allegiance) to the ISIS Caliph, Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, through a Syria-based handler, a pledge that was video recorded with him dressed in ISIS attire. The duo had planned attacks during Diwali, conducting re- Two suspected ISIS operatives arrested from Delhi and Bhopal | SHEKHAR YADAV connaissance at a South Delhi mall and a public park. Photos of locations from where they intended to procure materials were also recovered. According to police, intelligence revealed the existence of an interstate module affiliated with ISIS. The module was disseminating jihadi videos on social media and had progressed to an advanced stage of planning attacks on crowded places locations in Delhi during the festive season. A raid was conducted in Sadiq Nagar in coordination with central agencies on October 16, and Mohammad Adnan was detained near his residence. He made significant disclosures, including that he had been in contact with an individual from Bhopal via social media. The Bhopal-based suspect sent radical jihadi videos and instructed him to edit and disseminate them. Both suspects allegedly communicated with a Syria-based ISIS handler identified as Abu Ibrahim alQureshi, Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said. Mohammad Adnan admitted to recording his video, taking the Bay’ah for ISIS, and sending it to his foreign handler. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 EVERYONE’S MAN Piyush Pandey: The adman who spoke to India in its own language G U R B I R S I N G H @ Mumbai MANDAR PARDIKAR P IYUSH Pandey was the odd man out at a RedInk Awards panel discussion soon after Prime Minister Modi was voted in for the first time in 2014. As an advertising creative executive, he didn’t fit into a panel of popular news anchors Rajdeep Sardesai and Arnab Goswami, and Star chief Uday Shankar. Not surprisingly he drew fire , for his catch line: Aab ki Bar, Modi Sarkar — a slogan that moved the anti-incumbency wave. He laughed it off. “We have to deliver the message of our clients. We have nothing to do with politics.” Pandey’s creative campaigns for Ogilvy — the ad agency he started with in 1982 and ended his career and life with at 70 as Chief Creative Officer — grew it to an industry leader even as his creative skills dominated advertising in India for over three decades. He carried his walrus mustache, his broad grin and infectious sense of humour every- Piyush Pandey 5 SEPT 1955-24 OCT 2025 where; but it was his pioneering effort in changing Indian advertising from borrowed Western idioms to campaigns rooted in the language of our streets and villages that made him a legend. Remember the Mile Sur Mera Tumhara in 1988? It was a jingle for national integration written by him. It took the country by storm as it worked up a pride for unity in diversity . He also made some big brands daily, household names. Like his 1993 Cadbury’s campaign, Kuch Khaas Hai ham Sabhi Mein, which used local imagery to convince adults there is no sin in enjoying chocolates. The power of ‘gifting’ is another tack Pandey used successfully. He pushed Cadbury (now Mondalez) chocolates as a way to say thank you — Kuch Meetha Ho Jai; as he did with Titan timepieces — ‘The Joy of Gifting’. But who can ever forget Pandey’s incredibly creative Hutch (now Vodafone) campaign with the pug ZooZoo from 2010? The pug was used when ‘Hutch’ was transitioning to ‘Vodafone’; and in a quirky, simple manner the dog symbolised loyalty and connection. The pug campaign became so popular that for years the Chinese ‘pug’ breed became a favourite in India! For his contribution to advertising, Piyush Pandey was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016. He made his mark in advertising using a simple, storytelling style. As a person, he was never the corporate bigwig. An unkempt, easygoing guy he was everyone’s man. , ‘Emporio’ in CP to house 650 GI-tag products soon A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi THE Delhi government will create a grand Emporio in Connaught Place, envisioned as a “one-stop destination” where nearly 650 GI-tagged products from across India will be curated and showcased for sale. It will enable Indian and global buyers to experience the country’s traditional craftsmanship under one roof, Industry Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said. He made the announcement on Friday, following the 54th Board Meeting of the Delhi Khadi & Village Industries Board (DKVIB), held after a nearly four-year gap. The Board approved the creation of Emporio in collaboration with DSIIDC. The process to secure GI tagging for three traditional Delhi-based products has already begun, marking another milestone in promoting Delhi’s cultural identity . The Board also approved the appointment of legal consultants to draft a new DKVIB Act and Rules to strengthen the Board’s institutional and administrative framework. Earlier, in her maiden budget presentation, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta allocated `50 crore for the current financial year to boost artisan training, skilling, funding, and marketing support through DKVIB. P3