NEW DELHI 09 MARCH 2025 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard PLUS: 12 PAGES Walk the Line with Alkaline THE NAKED TRUTH MAHA KUMBH: THE SECRET LIFE OF NAGA SADHUS https://epaper.morningstandard.in MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE VOICES Pushpesh Pant Sunaina Anand Ajai Sahni Shampa Dhar-Kamath The Many Exiles of the Lord Sheila Kumar Prabhu Chawla Satyajit Das Geetha Ravichandran @ Guwahati @ Ahmedabad 402 women Agniveers inducted into Navy The Indian Navy achieved a significant milestone as 2,966 Agniveers, including 402 women, 288 SSR (medical asssistant) and 227 Naviks, were inducted as trainees after they passed out from INS Chilka, marking the culmination of training | P4 2 Naxalites surrender in C’garh’s Bijapur Two Naxalites, involved in several instances of violence and carrying a cumulative bounty of `2 lakh, surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. The duo turned themselves in before security forces, citing ‘inhuman’ and ‘hollow’ ideology Cricket betting racket busted in Delhi, 3 held The Crime Branch busted an illegal cricket betting racket operating in west Delhi’s Karampura, arresting three people and recovering `22 lakh. They were found betting on the South Africa-New Zealand Champions Trophy semi-final | P3 Silence of the Lands P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA EXPRESS READ SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS Pitching Luxury A COVENANT WITH DEATH Delhi CM Rekha Gupta with her Cabinet colleagues addresses the press after a meeting in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI Delhi cabinet okays `2.5k monthly aid for women CM says `5,100 crore to be allocated in Budget to fulfil poll promise A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi THE newly formed BJP government on Saturday approved the ‘Mahila Samridhi Yojana,’ a welfare scheme that provides poor women with monthly financial assistance of `2,500, m a rk i n g I n t e r n at i o n a l Women’s Day . In its second meeting after forming the government, the Delhi Cabinet gave the nod for an allocation of `5,100 crore to extend financial aid to eligible women. Given immense push during the election campaign, the scheme aims to provide `2,500 monthly to poor women aged between 18 and 60 with an annual family income below `3 lakh. According to the government estimation, nearly 2025 lakh women in the ‘BPL’ cat- 20-25L BENEFICIARIES According to the government, nearly 20-25 lakh women in the ‘BPL’ category will benefit from this initiative. This excludes government servants and individuals already receiving financial assistance under other government welfare schemes egory will benefit from this initiative. This excludes government servants and individuals already receiving financial assistance under other government welfare schemes. BJP national president JP Nadda made the formal announcement at an event organised by the party Mahila Morcha at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The government will #CHAMPIONSTROPHY ONE FINAL PUSH FOR DESERT GLORY G O M E S H S @ Chennai IN sports, more often than not, history is written by winners. No matter what a team does or how far a team progresses in a tournament, holding aloft the trophy defines it. No other team knows this better than India. In the last three ICC white ball tournaments, India have reached the final three times, lost one and won one. How the third final against New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy would end will be known on Sunday night. The win will also lay to rest the controversies surrounding the scheduling. One thing, however, is clear that the brand of cricket India are playing is something unique. One that head coach Gautam Gambhir spoke about from the moment he took over: winning brand of cricket, a philosophy they would want to follow. India, however, have not been able to live up to it, especially in the longest format. Home series loss after 12 years, Border-Gavaskar Trophy loss after 10 years have added pressure on Gambhir as well as captain Rohit Sharma. India during practice in Dubai | AFP A victory in Dubai is ever more important. The opponents on Sunday are New Zealand, the team India had beaten in the Group stages. The Black Caps have troubled India before and going by the records India should not slumber into complacency . Yet, for India the four-spinner strategy has worked on the deviously slow wicket of Dubai International Stadium. Varun Chakravarthy is the mystery man, the guiley Ravindra Jadeja, crafty Kuldeep Yadav and ‘all-rounder’ Axar Patel will play their parts again. “The hunger, the commitment, and the eagerness to try and do something special for the country is always there in the dressing room,” Gambhir said after the semifinal win. On paper, Sunday does promise a P11 cracking affair. soon start the registration process. Thousands of women were present at the stadium on the occasion. CM Rekha Gupta, said, “We made a provision of `5,100 crore in the Delhi budget for the scheme implementation. We have formed a committee, which I will lead, and the registration for the scheme will begin soon.” Delhi BJP chief Virendra stated that the scheme was implemented barely two weeks after the government was formed, as the party is committed to fulfilling all the promises made before the assembly polls. Opposition AAP launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led government over “delay” in the scheme’s rollout. Atishi accused the BJP of failing to deliver on its election promise. CLASHES broke out in Manipur’s Kuki-majority Kangpokpi district on Saturday as the Centre tried to restore free movement for people on all roads in the ethnic violence-hit state. Over a dozen protesters were injured, one of whom reportedly succumbed to injuries. The protesters attacked a staterun bus and torched at least one private vehicle. At a high-level Manipur security review meeting held in New Delhi on March 1, Union home minister Amit Shah had issued directions to restore free movement and take action against anyone attempting to create obstructions. Acting on that directive, the Manipur State Transport (MST) operated two buses, one on the Imphal-Kangpokpi-Senapati route and another on the Imphal-Bishnupur-Churachandpur route, with security cover by personnel of the Cen- tral Armed Police Forces. Similarly the Federations of , Civil Society (FOCS), a conglomerate of 20 Imphal Valleybased organisations, took out a peace expedition from Imphal to go to Senapati which is a Naga-majority district. The participants, who were travelling in some vehicles, were stopped at Sekmai in the Imphal West district by security forces and they returned to Imphal. Meanwhile, crowds were building in different parts of Kangpokpi district to thwart the march by FOCS and the movement of the MST bus. They erected barricades on a national highway by putting boulders and burning tyres. When the MST bus entered Kangpokpi district, the protesters started pelting stones. This led to a confrontation and security personnel had to use force to restore normalcy leading to clashes. The other MST bus travelled up to Kangvai, a small town in Churachandpur district. SEVEN years after its inception, the Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) launched pink buses for female passengers on Saturday to mark International Women’s Day. Two buses with female conductors have been made operational on two key routes— Gurugram bus stand to Dun- 14 IN UKRAINE Overnight air strikes killed at least 14 people in Ukraine, prompting Zelenskyy to call for more sanctions against Russia. Meanwhile, Moscow said its troops have retaken three villages seized by Ukraine in Kursk border in a setback for Kyiv | P9 Dealing with US push into agri market J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi AS India and the US begin trade talks, New Delhi has conveyed that it has been reducing applied tariffs in agreements with developed countries, while emphasising a “mutually beneficial” approach and “sensitive handling of sectors l ike a g ricul ture” , a ke y focus of the Trump administration in seeking greater market access. A team of Indian officials, led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal visited Washington from March 3 to 6 and engaged the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and their teams. President Donald Trump said India has agreed to cut its tariffs “way down now” because somebody is finally “exposing” them, evoking sharp reactions from opposition parties in the country . Reducing “average applied tariff significantly” has been a key aspect of India’s recently concluded mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreements with a slew of developed countries such as Australia, the UAE, Switzerland, Norway and the ongoing talks with the European Union and United Kingdom. But the “tone and substance of the talks” and “understanding each others’ concerns to get to an agreement” is the new focus. “The teams will now get into sector wise, issue-wise specifics,” said a source. Asked about various statements coming out of Washington on tariffs and ongoing trade negotiations, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a press briefing: “We have in recent times entered into bilateral trade agreements which are based on tariff liberalisation with several partners.... The ongoing discus- sions should be seen in that context.” The ongoing trade pact, the first tranche of which is expected to conclude by September, is now pitched against sweeping bilateral reciprocal tariff that Trump is rolling out against countries including India from April 2. Some key concerns for India include how to deal with increased US push for market access into agriculture and dairy products and a slew of non-tariff barriers. “Increasing market access, reducing tariff barriers, deepening supply chain integration, and increasing investments are our objectives,” sources said. Bodies of three missing found in J&K waterfall F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY Over 1.5 lakh women gathered in Gujarat’s Navsari for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Lakhpati Didi’ programme on Saturday | PTI | P7 After 7 years, pink buses launched for women passengers in Gurugram dahera and Huda City Centre to Gurugram Railway Station— where there is a heavy volume of female passengers. The buses will run at a frequency of up to 40 minutes without affecting the regular services on these two routes, which will continue operating as well. GMCBL plans to expand this service, eventually deploying at least one women’s RUSSIAN STRIKES KILL A vehicle in flames after protesters clashed with security personnel in Manipur | PTI FAIR INITIATIVE H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh Being Effective is the Need of the Hour Manipur erupts amid bid to restore free movement Rahul warns of weeding out black sheep in Gujarat Cong TAKING Congress cadre to task in a state where the party has been out of power for decades, party leader Rahul Gandhi cautioned a gathering of 2,000 workers here on Saturday that up to 40 leaders could be weeded out, if needed, to rebuild credibility in the state. Accusing some members of aiding the BJP in the state, he said, “For nearly 30 years, we have been out of power here. But the issue isn’t just elections — it’s trust. Until we fulfill our responsibility the peo, ple of Gujarat won’t back us, and we shouldn’t ask for their vote until we fulfill our duty…,” he said in his 25-minute speech at Jade Hall. Pointing at internal challenges faced by the party, he said, “People of Gujarat want an opposition, not BJP’s B-team …I once heard a worker say Congress puts racehorses in wedding processions and wedding horses in races. We must end this. If 10, 20, or even 40 people need to go, so be it. Those who don’t carry Congress in their hearts have no place in our organisation. Put the issue of winning and losing elections aside. As soon as we do that, people would like to join our organisation.” On Gujarat’s economic issues, he highlighted struggles of small traders and farmers, and urged the leaders to move beyond speeches and slogans. Many Myths, Many Truths special bus on every route once a new batch of buses is rolled out. Chief Executive Officer, GMCBL, Vishwajeet Chaudhary and Joint CEO, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Aut h o r i t y ( G M DA ) , S u m a n Bhankar, flagged of f the buses. “These pink buses, which are exclusively for women, represent a step towards empower- ing women with safer mobility options, reinforcing the Haryana Government’s commitment to gender-inclusive urban infrastructure for women empowerment,” said Chaudhary . The buses have started operating on the two routes and will cater dedicatedly to the female passenger base, which comprises both working women and students. Currently GMCBL operates 150 , buses in the millennium city , plying on 26 routes. Under the PM e-seva scheme, 200 new electric buses will be added to the existing fleet to further strengthen the city bus services in Gurugram for the benefit of the public at large. THREE residents of the Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir, who had gone missing three days ago, were found dead in a waterfall in the upper reaches of Billawar. Their bodies were recovered after security forces employed drones for aerial surveillance. Darshan Singh(40), Yogesh Singh(32), and Varun Singh(15) went to Lohai Malhar village in Billawar on March 4 to attend a marriage function. When the wedding procession reached Surag village, the three were found missing. One of them had purportedly called his family to inform them they had lost their way in the forest after retur ning from the marriage. Police, paramilitary CRPF and the Army launched a joint search operation to track them. “Since it was a dense forest area with thick foliage, the security forces pressed drones into service to locate the missing trio. Through drone surveillance, bodies of the trio were located near the waterfall,” police sources said.