SATURDAY 05 JULY, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard RUSSIA ANPR SYSTEM GOES SILENT LARGEST BARRAGE ON KYIV SINCE WAR Waves of drones and missiles targeted Kyiv overnight in the largest aerial assault since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began over three years ago. PAGE 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  A day after the Delhi government requested the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to suspend the enforcement of the fuel ban on Endof-Life Vehicles (ELVs), petrol stations reported that the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system has stopped flagging overaged vehicles, raising suspicion that it may have been deactivated. Enforcement teams from the transport department, traffic police, and the MCD were reportedly verbally instructed to pause confiscation drives until CAQM responds to the government’s request. In the meantime, over 100 old vehicles currently remain in scrapyards with no clear update on their status. | P3 PAGES 12 India fires fresh After Rijiju flutter, govt says it has salvo against no position on religious matters US trade tariffs Proposes retaliatory tariffs on imports of select US auto parts under WTO norms R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi India further emphasised that the US failed to formally INDIA has formally notified notify these safeguard measthe World Trade Organization ures to the WTO—a require(WTO) about its intention to ment under WTO rules for impose retaliatory tariffs on transparency and accountabilselect automobile parts im- ity India maintains that the US . ports from the US. actions violate the General This move comes as a direct Agreement on Tariffs and response to the US decision on Trade 1994 and the Agreement March 26 to implement on Safeguards. a 25% tariff on imports This is not India’s of passenger vehicles, first instance of WTOlight trucks, and cersanctioned retaliation. tain automobile parts Last month, India suboriginating in India, mitted a similar notifieffective May 3, 2025, cation to the WTO conand continuing indeficerning tariffs imposed nitely. India asserts by the US on steel, aluthat these US measures minum, and their deare inconsistent with rivative products. In The WTO WTO agreements and notification is a 2019, India also raised are causing significant tariffs on 28 US prodlegal and strategic step, har m to its trade ucts following the rebut whether interests. moval of its GeneralIn its notification to India will follow i z e d S y s t e m o f the WTO, India stated through remains Preferences status and uncertain that the proposed susthe continuation of pension of concessions metal tariffs, though Ajay Srivastava, or other obligations founder of Global those duties were rolled Trade Research would involve an inback in 2023 as part of a Initiative crease in tariffs on sebilateral truce. lected US products. The current escalaThis suspension is slated to tion in trade tensions comes take effect 30 days after the ahead of the July 9 deadline, date of the notification. which marks the end of a 90The US tariffs will impact day pause on the US plan to im$2.895 billion imports of Indi- pose country-specific reciproan-origin auto products annu- cal tariffs. ally, with duties totalling All eyes are now on the po$723.75 million. Therefore, In- tential announcement of an dia will suspend trade conces- interim trade deal between the sions of equivalent value. two nations. J AYA N T H J A C O B A N D R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi INDIA on Friday said it neither takes a position nor comments on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion, responding to the Dalai Lama’s recent statement on the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution, which had drawn a sharp reaction from China. “We have seen reports relating to the statement made by the Dalai Lama about the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution. The Government of India does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. “The government has always upheld freedom of religion for all in India and will continue to do so,” he further said. The statement came a day after Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that the decision regarding the reincarnation would rest solely with the established institution and the Dalai Lama himself, Tibetan students from Belgium practise ritual dance ‘cham’ in HP | PTI which was widely read as the official Indian position because there were no disclaimers. On Thursday, Rijiju walked back on his byte, clarifying that his comments were personal and made as a devotee of the Dalai Lama. “There is no need for any confusion on the Dalai Lama issue. All the people across the world who believe in Buddhism and follow the Dalai Lama want him to decide (on his succession). There is no need for me SET FOR HISTORIC MEET The much-awaited Neeraj Chopra Classic, an event which will feature top-class javelin athletes, will be held in Bengaluru today | P11 Sarai Kale Khan RRTS misses June deadline S L A L I T H A @ New Delhi TOUTED as the flagship starting point of India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), the Sarai Kale Khan station was expected to be ready by the end of June. But even as July begins, the transit hub meant to anchor the highspeed corridor connecting Delhi to Meerut is unfinished. With construction activity still underway and no official word on a revised opening date, the delay marks another setback for the project. Sarai Kale Khan has long been the bone of contention in the Delhi-Meerut RRTS project, significantly contributing to the delay . AN Air India flight from Bengaluru to Delhi was delayed on Friday morning after the pilot collapsed just before take-off. The airline arranged for an alternate pilot and the flight finally took off 90 minutes later. The incident follows recent concerns raised by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which pulled up the airline for the pilot roster system. Flight AI2414 was supposed to take-off by 3 am on July 4 from Terminal 2 of the Kempgowda International Airport. However, a pilot was reported to have fallen seriously ill inside the cockpit just before departure. The The government of India does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion Randhir Jaiswal, MEA spokesperson I speak as a devotee, I have faith in the Dalai Lama. Those who follow the Dalai Lama wish that he decides his successor Kiren Rijiju, Union minorities minister M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi CHINA used the four-day Operation Sindoor as a ‘live lab’ to test its weapons, as it provided Pakistan with ‘live inputs’ about key Indian positions, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development & Sustenance) Lt Gen Rahul R Singh said on Friday . The senior military officer said 81% of Pakistan’s military hardware is of Chinese make and that Pakistan was just the front face with China providing all support. “We had one border and two adversaries, actually three. Pakistan was in the front. China was providing all possible support,” said Lt Gen Singh, adding that Turkey gave Pakistan Bayraktar drones. “When DGMO-level talks were on, Pakistan had the live updates of our important vectors, from China,” he said. Lt Gen Singh made the com- Lt Gen Rahul Singh ments during a speech at the New Age Military Technologies’ event organised here by FICCI on Friday . Sharing the other lessons from Operation Sindoor, he said controlling the escalation ladder was an important consideration. “We should always be on the top of the escalation ladder. When we reach a military objective, we should try and put a stop to it,” he said. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, with an aim to destroy the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Shree Jagannath Ratha Yatra 2025 Jagannath Mandir, Hauz Khas, New Delhi Organizer : Sree Neelachala Seva Sangha, New Delhi B’luru-Del AI flight delayed as pilot collapses before take-off I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi or the government to say anything. Who would be the next Dalai Lama will be decided by him,” Rijiju said. Soon enough, China rebutted, urging India to act cautiously on Tibet-related issues to avoid its impact on the improvement of bilateral ties. The official Indian response came days after a landmark announcement by the 14th Dalai Lama, who, ahead of his 90th birthday, formally declared that the centuries-old institution of the Dalai Lama would continue after his death. The announcement ended decades of speculation surrounding the future of Tibetan Buddhism’s highest spiritual seat. “In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” the exiled Tibetan leader stated in a message posted on social media and his official website. He emphasized that only his personal institution, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, holds the legitimate authority to identify and recognise his reincarnation, warning that no external entities, including governments, have any right to interfere in the sacred process. CHINA HELPED PAK DURING OP SINDOOR: ARMY flight took off at 4:36 am, 90 minutes behind schedule, according to a flight tracking website. It landed in Delhi at 7:30 am. Confirming the incident, the Air India said in a statement, “There was a medical emergency involving one of our pilots in the early hours of July 4. As a result, the pilot was unable to operate the flight AI2414 from Bengaluru to Delhi, that he was rostered for, and was taken to a local hospital immediately He . is stable but continues to be under the supervision of doctors at the same hospital.” A similar incident was reported in August 2023, when an IndiGo pilot collapsed at Nagpur Airport and later died. ‘Delayed Airbus engine fix’ The DGCA rapped Air India Express in March about not changing engine parts of an Airbus A320 on time, and forging records, Reuters said. AI Exp falsified records to show compliance with EU safety agency’s norms on replacement of engine parts, said Reuters. Centre notifies Waqf management rules P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi EVEN as petitions challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 are pending before the Supreme Court, the Centre notified the “Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Rules, 2025”, dealing with the portal and database of waqf properties. The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf Amendment Act. According to the new rules, to ensure tracking and monitoring of waqf properties of all states, a centralised portal and database will be set up. It will be supervised by a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Minority Affairs in charge of the waqf division. The portal will automatically generate unique identification numbers for each waqf and its associated properties. All states have to appoint an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary as a nodal officer and set up a centralised support unit, in consultation with the Centre for streamlining uploading details of waqf and properties. This will ensure smooth registration, maintenance of accounts, audit and other related activities of the waqf and the Board. The rules have been framed under Section 108B of the 1995 Act, which was inserted as per the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025. The Act came into effect from April 8, 2025. The rules also deal with provisions of maintenance to widows, divorced women or orphans. The new rules say that the ‘mutawalli’ has to mandatorily enroll on the portal and database by using his mobile number and e-mail id through authentication by one-time password. The ‘mutawalli’ can file details of his property dedicated to the waqf only after registering with the portal. According to the rules, any inquiry into wrongful declaration of a property as waqf must be completed by the designated officer within a year of reference from the District Collector. SC reserves its verdict The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on the petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025. Centralised database A centralised portal and database will be set up to ensure tracking and monitoring of waqf properties of all states, as per new rules. Programme Details: Ratha Yatra: June 27, 2025 (Friday) Bahuda: July 05, 2025 (Saturday) Suna Besa: July 06, 2025 (Sunday) Cultural Evening Programme: June 28, 2025 to July 06, 2025 Ravinder Nath Pradhan Secretary