THURSDAY 29 OCTOBER, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE CABINET OKAYS 3% HIKE IN DA/DR FOR CENTRAL GOVT EMPLOYEES BRAZIL POLL BOLSONARO LANDS IN US WITH FAMILY The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a three per cent hike in dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) with effect from July 1 ‘Diwali gift’ for 1.17 cr staff and pensioners Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Bolsonaro and his family reached Miami on Wednesday, after he refused to concede to President Lula A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 EXPRESS READ No mobile charging in trains from 11 pm to 5 am The Railway Board has asked all zonal offices to comply with its 2014 order mandating the switching off of mobile phone charging points in coaches between 11 pm and 5 am. The move aims to ensure protection against possible fire instances. P7 Jamia campus to remain shut till Jan 13 amid stir For Jamia Millia Islamia students, the next classroom session on campus is now scheduled for next year, with the university extending online classes till November 24 and announcing that semester classes will resume on January 13, 2027, amid student agitation. P4 PAGES 12  NO TEE-OFF ADIEU FOR IAF CHIEF? J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi THE Indian Air Force chief ’s farewell golf outing has been caught in an unexpected rough. Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, who retires on October 31, was to be bid farewell with a round of golf at the Air Force Sports Complex on Lok Kalyan Marg. But the 18-hole course, barely a stone’s throw from the Prime Minister’s official residence, has been shut since Monday and will remain closed until further notice. Surveys are planned on the premises as the Centre steps up its drive to reclaim government land in the high-security zone around the PM’s residence. The Land and Development Office (L&DO), which manages government land in Lutyens’ Delhi under the Union housing and urban affairs ministry, is spearheading the exercise. The timing could hardly have been worse for the outgoing Singh. The IAF chief is traditionally the patron-in-chief of the course, but his farewell outing is CSD Delhi Air Force Golf Course A P Singh, Air Chief Marshal d THE BJP on Wednesday named Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri as its candidate for the November 12 by-election to one Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh. The decision to nominate Puri appears to signal the BJP’s intention to retain him in the Union cabinet. It offers a clear indication of his political future amid the recent controversies surrounding him. According to sources, the BJP’s central election committee approved Puri’s candidature after deliberating on various aspects. Puri, 74, is currently the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Hardeep Puri Gas. His term as Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to end on November 25. The by-election in Madhya Pradesh was necessitated by former Union Minister L Murugan’s resignation. With the BJP in power in Madhya Pradesh, its candidate is expected to have a smooth passage in the by-election. Puri’s nomination comes after the Congress and several other Opposition par ties accused him of lying about his interactions with Jef frey Epstein and called for his resignation. J8.00 ng R @ New Delhi  arju RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR NEW DELHI Safd Puri named for RS seat vacated by L Murugan  The decision will benefit more than 1.17 crore Central government employees and pensioners. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw described it as a “Diwali gift”. The hike amounts to “an increase of 3% over the existing rates of 60% of the basic pay/pension, to compensate against price rise,” an official release said | P7 A cartographic view of the golf course and adjoining roads that routinely see VIP movements Air Force Golf Course 4th club in Lutyens’ zone under threat The Land and Development Office has sent similar notices for closure and eviction to other sporting facilities in the vicinity of the prime minister’s residence. They include Delhi Gymkhana Club, Jaipu Polo Ground and Delhi Race Club. These clubs have challenged the L&DO notices in the Delhi HC. now in limbo. There is no word yet on who will conduct the surveys, what they are intended to establish, or when golfers can return, if at all. The complex has figured in the L&DO’s land disputes before. On November 13, 2017, it was among five properties on the stretch, to- gether spanning around 150 acres, issued notices over alleged occupation of land after lease expiry or encroachment on government land. The matter was subsequently put on the back burner. Now, the drive has gathered pace. The L&DO took over the 53acre Delhi Race Club premises in August and has also reclaimed the Jaipur Polo Ground. The biggest battle, of course, is over the Delhi Gymkhana Club. In May the Centre terminated the , club’s perpetual lease over its 27acre campus, invoking a public purpose clause and citing the need to “strengthen and secure defence infrastructure”. The club has challenged the move in the Delhi high court, where the matter is pending. Workers and residents of the slum clusters around the area have said that their shanties surrounding the Jaipur Polo Grounds and the Delhi Race Club have witnessed demolitions over the past two weeks, with debris from demolished structures still lying in the area. Over the past several weeks, the government has initiated a review of prime land parcels near Lok Kalyan Marg through the L&DO with a view to reclaiming plots used for defence golf and sports facilities. The Air Force Golf Course also houses a swimming pool as well. 7 DEAD IN AP ‘ARNAB’ BATTERS COASTAL DISTRICTS Seven people lost their lives across the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh in rain-related incidents, which were triggered by landfall of very severe cyclonic storm Arnab in the early hours of Wednesday | P5 SC grills EC over use of Congress draws Form 6 by deleted voters blank in MLC Advises panel to reach out to Delhi voters struck off, extend deadline 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 Wednesday came down heavily on the Election Commission of India (EC) over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi, questioning why deleted voters were asked to fill Form 6 which is meant for first-time voters. The court told the EC to devise a way to reach out to 47 lakh of 1.45 crore Delhi voters, whose names were deleted in the draft voter list during the ongoing SIR and suggested the deadline for the process be extended. The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices V Mohana and Joymalya Bagchi said Form 6 requires a declaration that the applicant had never enrolled anywhere before. If voters already on the rolls in 2026 filled the form it would amount to a false declaration, exposing them to prosecution, the court said. The petitioners submitted that of the 47 lakh deleted voters, 43 lakh were marked absent or permanently shifted, although many had not received enumeration forms. The SC said a person going out for work for a few months could not be treated as perma- Just 2.71 L voters seek inclusion via Form 6 With just a days left for the claims and objections period under Delhi’s SIR exercise to end, only 2.71 lakh applications seeking inclusion in the voter list have been filed since the draft rolls were published. The rolls dropped 47.56 lakh voters were it. P3 nent change of residence. “It cannot delete names of migrant workers, street vendors, daily wagers on that ground,” the judges said. The court advised the EC not to fix a deadline and to accept enumeration forms from deleted voters instead of asking them to fill Forms 6, 7 and 8. Urging the EC to find a way to reduce the gap of 43 lakh deletions, the court suggested it publish a list of those voters, asking them to contact the EC. The EC said it would consider accepting late enumeration forms and will extend the October 30 deadline if needed. “Your job is to act with due diligence... A voter comes and says, please put in these papers. You say, put in Form 6. How does he file Form 6?... This is structural incongruity... if he has not filled an enumeration form and draft roll having been published, he has not shifted... will you say the person forever loses the right to come in roll?” Justice Bagchi asked. “The right to vote is vital and it cannot be forfeited even if a voter is absent,” the SC said, adding that if a person had only changed their address they should be allowed to use Form 8 instead. Asking the EC to devise an effective mechanism to reach out to deleted voters, the court fixed the matter for hearing after two weeks. The SC was hearing a plea against issues in the SIR in Delhi moved by Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri. The petitioners have questioned the ‘logical discrepancy’ category in the SIR and said making deleted voters fill Form 6 forces them to make a false declaration. P7 polls in 4 states ASIAN Para Games gold medallist found dead N I T I N R A W AT @ New Delhi Of the eight seats in Bihar, @ Bengaluru/Mumbai/Patna/Lucknow the BJP won three while the JD(U), RJD-1, and Jan Suraaj THE Congress suffered a won one seat each. The remajor setback in the bien- maining two seats went to nial Legislative Council elec- independents. tions as the party could not Notably Prashant Kishor, win a single seat, led Jan Suraaj Party while the BJP and made its debut in the its allies won 16 of Bihar Legislative the 28 seats that Council with its canwent to polls on Ocdidate Suresh Prastober 23 in Karnataad Rai defeating sitka, Maharashtra, ting Congress MLC Bihar and Uttar MLC polls Madan Mohan Jha Pradesh. in Darbhanga TeachThe Congress con- Indirect, ballot- ers’ constituency . tested in 12 seats and based elections In Uttar Pradesh, to elect drew a blank, drawwhere results have members of ing a swipe from been declared for Legislative Prime Minister nine of the 11 seats, Councils of six the BJP won six Narendra Modi. In Congress-ruled bicameral state seats while the Salegislatures— Karnataka, the BJPmajwadi Party seUP, Bihar, led NDA swept all cured three. Results Maharashtra, four seats. The Jaof two seats are Karnataka, nata Dal (Secular) awaited. wrested the Ben- Telangana, and The grand old pargaluru Teachers’ Andhra Pradesh ty’s dismal performconstituency from ance drew a jibe Congress, while the BJP re- from Prime Minister Narentained the other three seats. dra Modi. “MLC elections in Out of the five MLC seats 28 seats across 4 big states. in Maharashtra, the BJP Elections held using ballot and NCP-SP won two seats papers. Guess how many each, while the Shiv Sena seats Congress won?” Modi won one seat. said in a post on X. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE THREE-TIME Asian Para Games gold medallist Neeraj Yadav was found dead beside his SUV in northeast Delhi’s Maujpur area. Police said they received information from GTB Hospital at 12.08 am on Wednesday that a man brought to its emergency department had been declared dead. Police reached Rajiv Gandhi Hospital, where GTB Hospital’s emergency services are currently operating, and found that the body had already been shifted to GTB Hospital’s mortuary . A woman who brought Yadav to the hospital told police that she had been friends with him since December 2025. She said she travelled to Sonipat on Tuesday to meet him and said she could no longer stay in contact with him. Yadav later dropped her at Maujpur in his car. “After dropping the woman, Yadav called her and asked her to meet him, but she refused. When he did not contact her again, she grew suspicious and returned to the metro station with her brother,” police said. DCP (Northeast) Rahul Alwal said the woman found Yadav lying on the road beside his car near Gate No 1 of Maujpur Metro station around 9 pm. CONTINUED ON P4 DPDP Act does not curtail freedom Now, pay over 90% less for some cancer meds of press, but open to amend law: Govt EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi UNION Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act does not infringe investigative journalism, asserting that the Constitution guarantees press freedom. He invited editors and media professionals to engage with the government to address concerns. The minister’s pushback came a day after the Digital News Publishers Association, which represents 21 mainstream media outlets, challenged the Act in the Supreme Court. The publishers argued that the absence of exemption for journalistic activities could impede investigative reporting and threaten press freedom. The Supreme Court has Ashwini Vaishnaw sought the Centre’s response and scheduled the next hearing for November 17. According to the publishers, the provisions governing notice, consent and the deletion of personal data could make it difficult for journalists to report on public-interest matters, particularly investigations into wrongdoings. They also raised concerns about the confidentiality of journalistic sources. Vaishnaw said the Constitu- tion guarantees journalistic freedom and that the government had no intention of restricting it. “The privacy law absolutely maintains, fully maintains the journalistic freedom the Constitution guarantees. I am inviting all editors, media persons to come and have a clear, open dialogue with us. We will be very happy to explain, and if there is any doubt, we are happy to take on record any suggestion and act if there is a need to,” said Vaishnaw, who also holds the Information and Broadcasting portfolio. Sources indicated that the Centre is open to amending the law to explicitly safeguard journalistic activities. Vaishnaw noted that the DPDP Act was enacted following a Supreme Court judgment that recognised the right to privacy as a fundamental right. THE national drug price regulator on Wednesday revised the maximum retail prices of as many as 543 cancer drugs brands, slashing some of them by more than 90%. Quite a few of the generic and biosimilar brands have drastically become cheaper while expensive cancer medicines like blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda by MSD Pharma, remain unchanged, as per the list released by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Control Authority (NPPA). The price of Palbociblib, used to treat certain breast cancers has been reduced to `2,270 from `40,421 for one brand and pack size. The cost of chemotherapy drug Thiotepa manufactured by Samarth Life Sciences Pvt Ltd has been reduced from `80,072 to `7,150 for a 100 mg vial. Dasatinib, Lenvatinib, STRENGTH & COMPANY NAME DRUG NAME DOSAGE FORM BRAND NAME Samarth Life 100 MG Sciences Pvt Thiotepa SAMTEPA Injection Ltd REVISED PACK SIZE OLD MRP MRP (IN `) (IN `) 80,071.86 7,150.33 RPG LIFE 50 MG Fulbreca 5 ml vial 26,072.16 SCIENCES LTD Fulvestrant Injection RPG LIFE 60 MG Debrumab 1 ml PFS 22,031.25 SCIENCES LTD Denosumab Injection 60 mg Abbott Healthcare Bevacizumab 100 mg/4 ml BEVACIZAB 4 ml vial 21,767.70 Injection Pvt. Ltd. HETERO 50 MG HEALTHCARE Fludarabine vial 14,235.00 Injection FLUDANOX LTD 5,491.00 Abiraterone and Olaparib, used in the treatment of different c a n c e r s a l s o h ave b e e n reduced. However, Ribociclib used to treat breast cancer, remains unchanged at `24,435. The cost of other originator brands, including Tagrisso, Tecentriq, Darzalex and Imfinzi, too, remain unchanged. The new prices will take effect on November 9, following 1 vial 5,941.00 5,930.13 2,432.00 the NPPA’s decision to cap trade margins at 30% of MRP for 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs. The pricing was reduced after the Supreme Court questioned the high cost and the margins charged in the cancer treatment supply chain. The revised prices list reflects the information submitted by companies up to October 27. It will be updated as and when manufacturers submit their revised prices of nonscheduled anti-cancer drugs. S Srinivasan, Co Convenor of All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), said, even after reducing the prices the costlier medicines continue to stay that way. Many cancer patients in India still cannot afford them. Today the prices have been fixed based on the Drugs (Prices Control) Order 2013 (DCPO 2013), in which the ceiling price is calculated with a simple average formula. It ends up justifying the high cost of many medicines. Reducing the trade margin price alone will not help. “The price should be reduced based on the cost based formula of DCPO 1995,” Srinivasan suggested. The regulator slashed the prices after it announced trade margin rationalisation (TMR) of 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs in public interest on October 17 to make cancer treatment more affordable.