TUESDAY CENTRE LAUNCHES ` 1 LAKH CRORE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT FUND 04 NOVEMBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard A F G H A N I S TA N QUAKE KILLS 20, INJURES HUNDREDS WANT TO FOSTER CULTURE OF R&D: MODI A 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook northern Afghanistan before dawn on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 640 others A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 RUSSIA, CHINA TESTING “Russia’s testing, China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it...We have to talk about it, otherwise you people are going to report. They don’t have reporters that are going to be writing about it,” Trump said Don: Pak on list of nations doing N-weapons test  NEW DELHI  J8.00 Modi launched the Research, Development and Innovation Fund at the firstever Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave in Delhi. He said the government would support high-risk, high-impact projects to help India emerge as a science and technology powerhouse. “Our goal is to foster a culture of research and development,” Modi said. | P7 PAGES 12  CAQM reply on pollution sought E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court has asked the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to file an affidavit detailing the measures it had implemented earlier and the steps it proposes to take in future to prevent deteriorating of air pollution in Delhi-NCR. On Monday a two-judge bench , of CJI B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the order during the hearing of a PIL, which sought appropriate directions to control air pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas, particularly after Diwali. The bench expressed dissatis- AQI DATA MONITORING FROM OCTOBER 14-25 The Supreme Court directed the CPCB, in consultation with state pollution control boards, to monitor the AQI in their respective areas from October 14-25. faction when it was told that several air monitoring stations remained non-functional during Diwali. “If the monitoring stations are not even functioning, we don’t even know when to implement GRAP… Out of 37 monitoring stations, only nine were functioning continuously on the day of Diwali,” senior advocate Aparajita Singh, amicus curiae in the case, said. The SC sought clarity on the operational status of the monitoring systems. The CAQM’s counsel told the court that a report had already been filed on the previous date of hearing but it could not be considered due to paucity of time. Singh suggested that a fresh affidavit should be submitted, addressing both the issues of malfunctioning of monitoring systems and the planned measures stemming pollution. In its last hearing on October 15, the SC had permitted the sale of green crackers from October 18-20 keeping in view Diwali. P3 If validated, it could raise serious concerns about Pak’s compliance with global norms claim if substantiated, could raise serious concerns about IsIN a provocative new claim lamabad’s compliance with inthat has stirred debate, US ternational norms. Pakistan President Donald Trump listed last conducted public nuclear Pakistan among several na- detonations in May 1998, followtions that are currently con- ing India’s Pokhran-II tests. ducting nuclear weapons tests, Islamabad has not yet issued a statement that could have far- any official response, though reaching global implications. its long-standing position In an interview aired on CBS maintains that its nuclear proNews’ 60 Minutes, Trump de- gramme is purely defensive fended his administraand governed by strict tion’s controversial decommand-and-control cision to resume nuclear mechanisms. The comtesting after more than ments have drawn We’re going to three decades. He said scrutiny from both test because countries like Russia, strategic analysts and they test and China, North Korea, others test. And inter national diploand Pakistan were al- certainly North mats, who warn that ready conducting such Korea’s been such allegations could testing. tests, while the US had strain Washington’s alPakistan’s “held back”. ready complex relabeen testing He claimed the US tions with Islamabad does not “necessarily and heighten tensions Donald Trump, know” where these across South Asia. US President “powerful” nations are Amid growing questesting nuclear weapons, but tions about the scope of the asserted the testing is being planned US testing, Energy done. “They they test way un- Secretary Chris Wright clari, der, underground where peo- fied in a Fox News interview ple don’t know exactly what’s that the administration’s prohappening with the test. You posal does not involve live nufeel a little bit of a vibration. clear detonations. “These are They test and we don’t test. We system tests — non-critical exhave to test,” he said. plosions,” Wright explained. The remarks mark the first “They involve all other parts time a sitting US president has of the nuclear weapon to make publicly talked about Pakistan sure they deliver the right gecontinuing nuclear testing, a ometry and safety functions.” Law students can’t be barred from exams for attendance: HC J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi EXPRESS READ India, Bahrain boost defence ties India and Bahrain on Monday reiterated their commitment to strengthening defence and security cooperation while advancing negotiations for major trade and investment agreements. The step came after talks between EAM S Jaishankar and visiting Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani. AI flight diverted to Mongolia over snag An Air India Boeing 777 aircraft carrying 225 passengers from San Francisco to Delhi made a precautionary landing at Mongolia’s main airport on Monday afternoon after suffering a technical glitch. The flight is undergoing checks at the New Ulaanbaatar International Airport. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi Remnant of the TGSRTC bus after a truck hit it in Ranga Reddy district | PTI One of the vehicles damaged in the accident near Jaipur on Monday | PTI RECKLESS DRIVING TWO DAYS, 29 DEATHS 19 killed as truck rams into bus in Telangana S I D D H A R D H A G AT T I M I @ Hyderabad IN one of the worst road tragedies in Telangana in recent memory at least 19 people, in, cluding 14 women and a 10-month-old baby were killed , and 25 injured when a gravelladen tipper lorry rammed a TGSRTC bus near Mirzaguda village in Chevella mandal of Rangareddy on Monday . The collision occurred around 6.15 am on the Hyderabad–Bijapur highway. Police said the tipper, carrying gravel from Patancheru to Man- neguda, was overloaded and speeding when its driver tried to overtake another vehicle. To avoid a pothole, the driver swerved abruptly veered into , the wrong side and crashed into the oncoming bus carrying 72 passengers. The impact was catastrophic. The front of the bus was crushed beyond recognition, killing both drivers — truck driver Akash Kamle (24) of Maharashtra, and RTC driver Dastagiri Baba. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered. 14 dead near Jaipur as truck hits parked cars R A J E S H A S N A N I @ Jaipur A day after 15 people were killed and two injured in Phalodi district of Rajasthan when a mini bus collided with a trailer along the Bharatmala Highway a tragic , road accident in Jaipur’s Harmada area on Monday afternoon left 14 people dead and over 18 injured. A speeding dumper truck lost control and rammed into 17 vehicles, creating devastation that eyewitnesses termed “unbearable to watch.” The accident occurred around 1 pm near the Loha Mandi area of Harmada. According to Jaipur District Collector Jitendra Soni, the dumper truck was heading towards the Loha Mandi petrol pump when its brakes gave up. The impact was so severe that the truck crushed vehicles for over 300 metres before coming to a halt. Eye-witnesses said the driver appeared to be drunk. An ex-gratia of `2 lakh has been announced for the next of kin of each deceased. College student raped by three in Biren tapes tampered, Coimbatore, accused on the run top forensic lab tells SC EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Coimbatore A 20-year-old college student was abducted and sexually assaulted by a three-member gang at a secluded spot behind the Coimbatore International Airport around 11pm on Sunday, triggering outrage across the state. The gang is still at large. The Coimbatore city police have formed seven special teams to trace the men, who allegedly assaulted the private college student when she was talking to her male friend, a 25-year-old man from Ondipudur in Coimbatore, inside a car near Brindavan Nagar. of a plea filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (Kohur), seeking a courtAUDIO recordings allegedly monitored probe into certain implicating former Manipur leaked audio clips that allegedChief Minister N Biren Singh ly implicate Singh in instigatin the 2023 ethnic violence in ing the ethnic violence. the state were tamA two-judge bench pered with and are not comprising Justice Sanscientifically fit for jay Kumar and Justice voice comparison, the Alok Aradhe directed National Forensic Scithat a copy of the NFence Laboratory SL’s report be shared (NFSL), Gandhinagar, with all parties and listhas informed the Sued the case for further Biren Singh preme Court. hearing on 8 December. “As the said audio is Kohur alleged that the tampered with, no opinion on tapes, shared by an anonymous the similarity or dissimilarity whistleblower, contained phone of the speakers could be of- conversations held by Singh, fered,” the NFSL told the court. “establishing the complicity of The submission of the NFSL the highest functionary and were made during the hearing others” in the ethnic violence. S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi Survivor & injured friend stable in hospital The victim and her friend, who also sustained serious injuries in the attack, were hospitalised. Sources say the latter received 20 stitches and is under close observation. The girl is also stable now. The accused attacked her friend with a machete, dragged the girl to a shrubbery nearby and took turns to assault her before fleeing the spot, police said. The girl from Madurai is a student of a college in Coimbatore. The incident came to light after the girl’s friend, who had collapsed following the attack, regained consciousness and alerted the police upon realising that the girl was missing. Police rushed to the area and launched a search for the girl. She was found lying unconscious at a nearby spot in the wee hours of Monday, and was rushed to a private hospital. Her friend, who sustained serious injuries in the attack, was admitted to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. Sources say that he has received over 20 stitches and is under close observation. The girl is also recovering and in a stable condition now. THE Delhi High Court on Monday ordered that no law student in the country can be stopped from taking exams for want of minimum attendance, and directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to review its attendance rules. Delivering a set of measures aimed at preventing academic rigidity that can harm students’ mental health, a divis i o n b e n c h o f Ju s t i c e s Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma said that colleges must not use attendance shortfall as grounds to withhold promotion or bar students from examinations. The ruling was issued while disposing of a suo motu petition that followed the 2016 suicide of Sushant Rohilla, a third-year law student at Amity who allegedly hanged him, self after being barred from semester exams for not meeting attendance requirements. The Supreme Court had initiated the petition in September 2016, and it was later transferred to the Delhi High Court in March 2017. “This court is strongly of the view that norms in education in general and legal education in particular, can’t be so stringent so as to lead to mental trauma, let alone death of a student,” the bench said. The HC directed the BCI to begin stakeholder consultations—bringing together student bodies, parents and teachers—to revisit the norms. ZUBEEN GARG MURDERED, SAYS ASSAM CM Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday claimed that cultural icon Zubeen Garg was murdered in Singapore, even as the probe into the case was underway | P8 NIGHT AFTER Recognition, fame and riches, India women wake up to new reality Choksi challenges extradition to India G O M E S H S @ Navi Mumbai Fugitive Mehul Choksi has challenged before Belgium’s Supreme Court an October 17 ruling by the Antwerp Court of Appeal that had upheld India’s request for his extradition. The public prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Antwerp said Choksi filed an appeal in Court of Cassation on October 30. AS the embers of the beautiful night melted in the dawn, Indiawomen woke up to a new reality – the World Champions. Harmanpreet Kaur and her team must have realized life will no longer be the same again. With last night’s extraordinary viewership numbers (running above 30 crore) and the win turning into the most-discussed topic over the last 24 hours, the fortunes have changed. The team bagged $4.48 million (`40 crore) as prize money . Add to that the `51 crore the Indian cricket board (BCCI) announced. Close to `100 crore for the team, an amount that eclipses any figure the team received since they started playing in World Cups 50 years ago. The Harmanpreet Kaur with the WC trophy at the Gateway of India on Monday | PTI World Cup prize-money had seen a nine-fold increase from the runner-up $500,000 they got in 2020 at the MCG. The brand of women’s cricket has been steadily growing and from Sunday night, leading sports apparel companies to food delivery apps started using stars’ faces to promote their brands. Smriti Mandhana has been the most recognised face and the top earner. Harmanpreet is close behind. The likes of Pratika Rawal, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma could be the new faces soon. In terms of cricket, the BCCI is planning to usher in changes. “Whateverchanges we have seen after 1983 in men’s cricket, we hope and expect the samething to happen now,” BCCI secretary Devajit P11 Saikia told this daily .