WEDNESDAY GOVT NOD FOR 4 CHIP PLANTS WORTH `4,594 CR IN ODISHA, PUNJAB, AP 13 Out of the four projects, Odisha will get two, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh one each, Union I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday AUGUST, 2025 ODISHA TO WITNESS `4,009 CRORE INVESTMENT epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard EGYPT WORK TO BROKER GAZA CEASEFIRE ON Egypt Foreign Minister said that Cairo is working with Qatar and the US to broker ceasefire in Gaza, as part of a renewed push to end the ongoing conflict. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 SC: No coercive action against owners of ELVs in Delhi-NCR S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi IN a huge relief to the owners of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) in the national capital, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that no coercive action be taken against the owners of 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in Delhi-NCR. It also decided to re-examine the 2018 blanket ban on against these. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai and comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, decided to re-examine the issue after hearing an application filed by the Delhi government to recall the court’s order of October 29, 2018, that upheld the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) 2015 directive in this regard. The SC also issued notice to the Centre and Commission for Air Quality Management on the plea of Delhi government and asked them to file a detailed response. Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government, requested the apex court to consider ordering no coercive steps in this regard against these owners. “The order needs to be stayed as the police will be under the obligation to start the seizure. The directive was arbitrary he said. ,” The apex court allowed the request of Mehta and passed the order of not taking any coercive steps against the owners of 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in Delhi-NCR and fixed the matter for further hearing after four weeks. In a lighter vein, the CJI observed that earlier, one used to use cars for 40-50 years. Vintage cars are still around. Delhi gover nment had moved the SC seeking direction to recall its October 29, 2018, order that upheld the NGT’s initial directive. DOGS TO DETECT DRONES FIRED FROM PAK The Border Security Force has trained dogs to detect drones carrying drugs and weapons coming from across the India-Pakistan international border. The animals can pick up the mechanical buzzing sound of the flying machines that humans ears can’t | P8  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 Inclusion or exclusion from rolls within Election Commission of India’s ambit, says bench Bihar SIR appears to be a trust deficit issue: SC 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 Tuesday observed that the special intensive revision (SIR) in Bihar appears to be a matter of trust deficit, adding inclusion or exclusion of citizens from electoral rolls was within the ambit of the Election Commission of India (ECI). A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, which commenced the hearing on a batch of petitions, called the SIR row “largely a trust deficit issue”, going by the ECI’s claim that roughly 6.5 crore of the total 7.9 crore voting population didn’t have to file any documents for themselves or their parents who featured in the 2003 poll roll. Besides, “if out of 7.9 crore voters, 7.24 crore voters responded to SIR, it demolishes the theory of one crore voters missing or disenfranchised,” the bench said. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha and others, argued that the exclusion of about 65 lakh voters from the draft elec- toral roll is illegal. “Despite residents holding Aadhaar, ration and EPIC cards, officials refused to accept the documents. People were struggling to find birth certificates and other documents of their parents,” he said. However, Justice Surya Kant told Sibal he was making a very sweeping statement that nobody has documents in Bihar. “If this happens in Bihar, then what will happen in other parts of the country?” he wondered. Contrary to its earlier advice to the ECI to consider Aadhaar and voter I-cards for the SIR process, the bench agreed with the poll body that they were not proof of citizenship. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing different political parties, questioned the timeline — just before the Bihar state polls — for the completion of the exercise. The court, however, stressed that as per the rules, those excluded have to submit applications for inclusion, and it is only at this stage that anyone’s objection will be considered. But Singhvi submitted that the EC was never intended to be the policeman of citizenship. “What is happening here is de facto deletion. Non-inclusion is the clever word being used here.” Sibal pointed out that while in one constituency in the state, contrary to the poll panel’s claims, 12 people declared dead were found alive, in another instance alive persons were declared dead. But senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the ECI, said any exercise of such a nature was bound to have some defects at the draft stage. “This process can be rectified,” Dwivedi said. The arguments were inconclusive and would P8 continue on Wednesday . Bombay HC: Aadhaar isn’t citizenship proof The Bombay High Court on Tuesday denied bail to an alleged Bangladeshi national, saying mere possession of documents such as Aadhaar card, PAN card or a Voter ID card does not make someone a citizen of India. “They are meant for identification or availing services, but do not override the basic legal requirements of citizenship as prescribed in the Citizenship Act, 1955,” Justice Borkar said | P8 EC gets plaint on Siddu’s 2018 ‘vote purchase’ Amid vote theft charges against the poll body in Karnataka, BJP MP Lahar Singh Siroya petitioned the ECI citing a video of former Union minister C M Ibrahim claiming he had ‘purchased’ 3,000 votes in the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections to ensure a narrow victory of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Badami assembly constituency Vaishnaw said SiCSem will set up a silicon carbide semiconductor plant in Bhubaneswar for `2,066 crore, while Intel-backed 3D Glass Solutions will establish a manufacturing unit in Odisha with an investment of `1,943 cr; electronics component maker CDIL will set up a facility in Punjab for `117 crore; and ASIP will establish a chip packaging plant in AP for `468 crore ■ ■ The four new projects together are expected to generate a cumulative employment for 2,034 skilled professionals, a govt release said | P7 With the four new approvals, the total approved projects under the India Semiconductor Mission is now 10 with cumulative investments of around `1.6L cr spread across six states, the release added `76,000 CR OUTLAY OF SEMICONDUCTOR MISSION UNDER WHICH PROJECTS ARE APPROVED Justice Aravind on panel of 3 to probe Varma misconduct P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi LOK Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday announced a threemember panel to probe charges against Justice Yashwant Varma after admitting a multi-party notice for his removal, setting in motion the process of impeachment of the Allahabad High Court judge. The inquiry committee includes Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, and senior Karnataka High Court advocate B V Acharya. “The committee will submit its report as early as possible. The proposal (for removal of Justice Varma) will remain pending till the receipt of the report,” Birla said. The LS Speaker said he had received a proposal from 146 MPs, including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, seeking removal of Justice Varma on July 21. The panel was set up in accordance From left: Justice Aravind, Justice Shrivastava, and senior advocate Acharya WHAT HAPPENS NEXT If the committee finds Justice Varma guilty, the inquiry report will be tabled in Parliament, followed by a discussion in both Houses after which there will be voting on the motion for the removal of the judge with Section 3(2) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act 1968, he added. A fire incident at Justice Varma’s residence in the national capital in March, when he was a judge at the Delhi High Court, had led to the discovery of sackfuls of burnt cash at the outhouse. Though the judge claimed ignorance about the cash, a Supreme Court-appointed committee indicted him after speaking to a number of witnesses and recording his statement. Now, Delhi cops can depose via video conference GAZA GENOCIDE PRIYANKA VS ISRAEL ENVOY A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi CONGRESS leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar were at daggers drawn on Tuesday after the former accused Israel of committing “genocide” and criticised the Indian government’s “shameful” silence over “the devastation on the people of Palestine”. The Wayanad MP’s remarks received a sharp response from Israel’s ambassador to India, Reuven Azar. “What is shameful is your deceit. Israel Killed 25,000 Hamas terrorists. The terrible cost in human lives derives from Hamas’s heinous tactics of hiding behind civilians, their shooting of people trying to evacuate or receive assistance and their rocket fire,” Azar said on X. The diplomat’s reply was to a post by Priyanka on the microblogging platform that Israel has “murdered over 60,000 people, 18,430 of whom were children”. Targeting the BJP-led government at the Centre, the Congress leader said enabling these crimes by silence and inaction is a crime in itself. Priyanka Gandhi In another post on X, Priyanka said the “cold blooded murder” of five Al Jazeera journalists is another heinous crime committed on Palestinian soil and said the immeasurable courage of those who dare to stand for the truth will never be broken by the violence and hatred of the Israeli state. “In a world where much of the media is enslaved to power and commerce, these brave souls reminded us of what true journalism is. May they rest in peace,” she said. In a sharp response, the Israeli envoy said that Israel facilitated two million tonnes of food into Gaza while Hamas tries to sequester them, creating hunger. “Gaza population has grown 450 per cent in the last 50 years, no genocide there. Don’t buy Hamas numbers,” Azar said on X. IN ALL, 10 PROJECTS UNDER NATIONAL MISSION JUMBO MEAL Decorated elephants enjoy a meal after taking part in a fashion show on World Elephant Day in Jaipur. | PTI EXPRESS READ Maha opposition to non-veg ban on I-Day ‘Muslim marriages can end on verbal consent’ Longest anti-terror op called off in Kulgam A ban on the sale and consumption of non-vegetarian food by the municipal corporations of Malegaon, Sambhaji Nagar and KalyanDombivli in Thane on August 15 has stirred a row, with the Opposition demanding action against the officials concerned. The Gujarat HC has held that a Muslim marriage can be dissolved through Mubaraat mutual consent divorce without any written agreement. It set aside a Rajkot family court’s decision that had rejected a joint divorce plea solely because no written agreement existed. | P8 The security forces called off the 11-day long search operation in the Akhal forest area of Kulgam in south Kashmir, one of the longest anti-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir in the recent past, after no contact was established with the militants for nearly three days. LG VK Saxena on Tuesday approved notifying all police stations in the city as “designated place” from where police officers can provide evidence through video conferencing. This would, apart from cutting short police personnel’s time consumed in court appearances, bring in greater transparency and efficiency in overall police functioning. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also been emphasising on deposition of police personnel through video conference from police stations. In a recent review meeting, Shah had directed setting up adequate number of video conferencing facilities to ensure smooth functioning and proper coordination between police and the courts. However, he clarified that only police personnel/officers and not witnesses must be examined virtually from police stations. Earlier, the video conferencing facility for providing evidence was only available in Delhi HC, District Courts, Delhi Prisons, hospitals and the forensic science laboratory, and some government offices. Harijan out, SC in: Odisha From netas to abhinetas, growl grows louder against dog fiat cleans up official vocab SC RULING ON STRAY DOGS PA R A M I TA G H O S H @ New Delhi FROM the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha to Bollywood’s leading men, the tribe of ‘big brothers’ for stray dogs is growing. The backlash came from all quarters in both bark and bite. After a day of high drama, marching with INDIA bloc colleagues from Parliament to the Election Commission of India’s office over revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Rahul Gandhi took a moment to post on social media, aimed, perhaps, at a different constituency of voters. Dog parents and animal lov- ers have not been at rest since the Supreme Court’s directive on Monday to remove all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR and place them in shelters within eight weeks. Rahul described the directive as a “step back from decades of humane, science-backed policy”. He added that “shelters, sterilisation, vaccination & community care can keep streets safe” without the need for “blanket removals”. Rahul’s dog cred has never been in doubt. Former Congress leader and present Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said on record that he had to vie for Rahul’s An elderly woman at a demonstration for stray dogs, in Delhi on Tuesday | PTI attention with the latter’s dog on an occasion when he had gone to meet him over a political matter. For Bollywood actor John Abraham, it is personal. He is the dad of Bailey, a mixed breed, adopted as a stray Call. ing the action ‘illegal, impractical, and inhumane’, he wrote to Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, requesting a review of the sweeping order. Abraham flagged the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Dog Rules 2023, and said the new directive “directly conflicts with the Supreme Court’s own judgments on the issue that have consistently upheld a methodical sterilisation programme, as recom- mended by WHO in 1990, as the only effective and scientific solution to address the community dog population. The ABC Rules prohibit the displacement of dogs, instead mandating their sterilisation, vaccination, and return to the very areas they inhabit.” For animal lovers, all eyes are now on Delhi-NCR, and, on this, there is no north-south divide. From actor Varun Dhawan to popular playback singer in the south, Chinmayi Sripaada, to Indian comic actors such as Vir Das, all have also come out strongly against the relocation order, using their social media accounts to call it a “death sentence for all dogs”. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar THE Odisha government has directed its departments and offices to replace the term ‘Harijan’ with the Constitutional term ‘Scheduled Caste’ (SC) in English or ‘ nusuchita A Jati’ in Odia for denoting persons belonging to the category . The move follows a directive by the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) to avoid using ‘Harijan’ for SCs. In a circular to all the principal secretaries and commissioner-cum-secretaries, the ST and SC Development department ordered to ensure that the term ‘Harijan’ is not used in any official communications, records, etc. It also asked the officers to take steps to sensitise all employees in this regard and ensure that existing documents or records are aligned with the changes. In May the state coordina, tor of Bahujan Students & Youth Front Anil Kumar Mallick had filed a petition with the OHRC seeking its intervention in removing the term from use by public institutions, educational establishments, news reports and government communications. He reasoned that ‘Harijan’ has long been associated with untouchability and caste-based discrimination against the SCs.