TUESDAY 17 MARCH, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard Dept for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade on Monday notified changes in FDI policy to let overseas cos with Chinese shareholding of up to 10% invest in India under automatic route X.com/TheMornStandard GLOBAL PRICES SURGE WITH OIL OVER $100 A BARREL, IEA WARY The 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency could release more oil from emergency stockpiles if necessary. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI Unprecedented purge of Mamata’s top babus For the first time in West Bengal, ECI transfers state chief secretary S U B H E N D U M A I T I @ Kolkata IN an unprecedented shake-up of the top administration in West Bengal hours after announcing the poll schedule, the Election Commission of India removed Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty, home secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey, additional DGP (Law and Order), Vineet Goyal, and Kolkata’s Commissioner of Police Supratim Sarkar in one sweep. While major transfers do happen after the model code of conduct kicks in, never before has the cream of the administration been ejected in one go. The transfer orders came in two batches, first the bureaucrats and then the police brass. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was acidic about the mass upheaval, particularly characterising the transfer of the chief secretary as anti-women and anti-Bengal. She called it a panic reaction by the BJP that realises it cannot win elections through democratic means. The poll panel replaced Chakraborty with Dushyant Nariala. Sanghamitra Ghosh, secretary of the Women and ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a rally in Kolkata on Monday | PTI Big fight: Suvendu vs Didi at Bhawanipore Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and BJP MLA from Nandigram, will take on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from south Kolkata’s Bhawanipore. He defeated her at Nandigram in the 2021 state poll. | P8 Child Development department, was appointed home secretary. Siddh Nath Gupta was appointed the new DGP while Ajay Mukund Ranade and Ajay Kumar Nand took charge as ADG (Law and Order) and WB MAY GET 2,500 CAPF COMPANIES Kolkata’s Commissioner of Police, respectively . The panel also directed that the replaced officers must not be given any portfolio related to the upcoming elections till the poll process is over. West Bengal goes to polls in two phases on April 23 and 29. Some senior serving and retired bureaucrats in the state said no chief secretary of West Bengal has been ever chucked out during election time since Independence. Political observers saw in the purge the poll body’s determination to keep the election process free and fair. The ECI apparently hopes to rewrite the state’s chequered history of nor malising election-time violence. Besides, senior bureaucrats have been seething over Mamata’s decision to appoint juniors in various important posts. For instance, former chief secretary Chakraborty and axed home secretary Meena leapfrogged over seniors to land the plum posts. Meena is junior to her successor, Ghosh, by as many as seven years. EC officials justified the transfers, saying they aimed at ensuring administrative impartiality and strict adherence to law and order. DEOs, SSPs OF 5 ASSAM DISTRICTS SHIFTED POLICE OFFICERS’ SHUFFLE IN TN  J8.00  PAGES 12 NEW NORMS FOR FDI TO DRAW CHINA NOTIFIED Earlier, foreign firms with shareholders from China or other countries sharing land border with India had to seek mandatory approval to invest in India A decision to ease the FDI norms was taken by the Union Cabinet last week During the Covid-19 pandemic, govt had tightened FDI policy through Press Note 3 (2020) to curb opportunistic takeovers/ acquisitions of Indian companies Press Note 3 has now been amended to ease the restrictions Not in talks with US over Strait of Hormuz: MEA D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi INDIA has not held any bilateral discussion with the US on policing the Strait of Hormuz, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said on Monday . The clarification came in response to a question on whether the US had approached India to send warships to secure the Strait, which is currently under Iran’s control. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump had said that he told seven countries to send warships to the Strait. “I’m demanding that these countries DAY come in and protect their own territory, because it is their o w n t e r r i t o r y, ” Trump said, claiming the shipping channel is not something the US needs because of its own access to oil. Trump said 17 China gets about 90% of its oil from the Strait, while the US gets a minimal amount. Rakesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said two LPG carriers—Shivalik and Nanda Devi—successfully crossed the conflict zone on March 13. Shivalik carrying 46,000 MT of LPG reached the INDIA bloc cross-vote adds to the NDA haul in RS polls P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi THE INDIA bloc suffered a major setback on Monday as instances of cross-voting and absenteeism by Opposition legislators helped the NDA consolidate its position in the elections to the Rajya Sabha. Polling was held for 37 seats across 10 states, with the NDA winning a majority of the contested seats. While 26 candidates were elected unopposed earlier, voting took place on Monday for the remaining 11 seats—five in Bihar, four in Odisha, and two in Haryana. NDA won eight seats—five in Bihar and three in Odisha, where BJD also won one seat. The results of two seats in Haryana have been put on hold after both the Congress and BJP approached the Election Commission alleging violation Suspension of 8 Oppn MPs in LS may be lifted The suspension of eight opposition MPs from the Lok Sabha is likely to be revoked on Tuesday, sources said, citing a decision taken at a meeting convened by Speaker Om Birla. Seven Congress MPs and a CPI(M) member were suspended for unruly behaviour for the entire session, which will conclude on April 2 of voting norms. NDA secured two of the three closely fought seats in Odisha, Bihar, and Haryana that were being watched for a possible Opposition breakthrough. INDIA bloc had hoped to clinch the remaining three seats and moved several of its MLAs to other states to prevent defections. In Bihar, the results dealt a blow to the Mahagathbandhan after the NDA swept all five seats—Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and new BJP president Nitin Nabin were among the winners. Opposition candidate, RJD’s Amarendra Dhari Singh, lost after the alliance failed to garner the required support of at least 41 MLAs. At least four MLAs, three from Congress and one from RJD, remained absent during voting. The battle for one extra seat in Odisha also went the Bihar way. BJP candidates Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar and BJD’s Santrupt Misra were elected, as did BJP-backed Independent Dilip Ray. Five MLAs of BJD and Congress cross-voted in favour of Ray . Follow law in probing student activists, cops told U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi THE Delhi High Court on Monday directed the police to follow law during its probe against 10 student activists who alleged that they were “abducted” and kept in “illegal detention” by cops, even though the court did not even know “what they are investigating”. The judge, meanwhile, refused to constitute a medical board to examine the injuries received by one of the detainee students, Rudra Vikram, who alleged “torture” in the custody “There is no need for medi. cal (board). You can get it done yourself,” the bench said. A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja, however, directed them to preserve the CCTV footage of the Special Cell Police Station where the students were allegedly taken. The bench was hearing a habeas corpus peti- tion filed by Rudra’s lawyer, seeking his release. During the hearing on Monday, Rudra’s lawyer told the court that though police made a statement that all the detained were released on Saturday, Rudra was released on Sunday after the high court special bench heard the case. The counsel alleged that the police tortured Rudra and there were injury marks on his hands, face and private parts. During the hearing, the police told the court that while all the detainees were directed to remain present on Monday for probe, nobody has shown up. At this, the bench said, “You have the powers. We don’t even know what you are investigating. All we want is for there to be a procedure prescribed. Injury can be self-inflicted: Bench to students The judge refused to constitute a medical board to examine the injuries received by one of the detainee students, Rudra Vikram, who alleged “torture” during the custody. “There is no need for medical (board). You can get it done yourself,” a bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja said. ‘Families pressured to withdraw petition’ On Sunday, the HC was informed that all detained student activists, except Rudra, were released late on Saturday night, hours after the court said it would hold a special proceeding on Sunday. Their counsel also claimed that after releasing the activists, the police also “put pressure” on their families to withdraw the petition. Trauma care ICU inferno kills 10 patients at Cuttack medical college EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Cuttack/Bhubaneswar AT least 10 patients, including a 101-year-old man, died after a deadly fire broke out in the trauma care ICU of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack early Monday . Four patients, who were rescued from the ICU, are stated to be in critical condition and admitted to other hospital. Around 11 hospital staff have suffered injuries while trying to evacuate the patients. According to reports, 14 patients were admitted to the 23bed ICU located on the first floor of the four-storey trauma care building. The fire is believed to have started from an electric short circuit in the air conditioner at around 2.40 am. The hospital and the ICU staff were the first responders but the blaze became uncontrollable and soon smoke and flames engulfed the unit. As most of the patients were on ventilator and oxygen support, freeing them from the medical support systems and evacuating them proved a herculean task. Sources said the water sprinklers on the first floor did not function, nor did the alert go off. Sources said the general electricity department had, for some reason, deactivated the alert system while the public health engineering organisation, in charge of water supply, had not filled the sprinkler network. The hospital staff employed fire extinguishers to put out the blaze in the first instance. “When the flames started leaping, the call went out to the fire station unit on the hospital premises at 2.58 am. The 15-20 minutes did matter,” they said. While three of the 14 patients were charred to death, seven others died of asphyxiation. The rest four were rescued in critical condition. The evacuation was carried out by using stretchers through stairs, sources said. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi ordered a judicial probe into the incident. President Droupadi Murmu expressed grief, saying, “My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. I wish a speedy recovery to those injured.” Countries that share land borders with India are China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, and Afghanistan Please follow it.” The case will be heard on March 27. On Sunday, the HC was informed that all detained student activists, except Rudra, were released late on Saturday night, hours after the court said it would hold a special proceeding on Sunday . Their counsel also claimed that after releasing the activists, the police also “put pressure” on their families to withdraw the petition. The bench recorded the submission and directed the police to explain within a we e k t h e c i rc u m s t a n c e s under which student activists were detained. The counsel claimed that the activists had gathered at the BSCEM office in Vijay Nagar to discuss the detention of another woman on March 12. The detained woman too has been released. The court will further hear the matters on March 27. SNOW COVER Vehicles stuck in a traffic jam during snowfall near Atal Tunnel in HP on Monday | PTI LPG BLACK MARKETING RING BUSTED, 600 CYLINDERS SEIZED At least six FIRs have been registered in connection with illegal storage, refilling and black marketing of LPG cylinders with 600 cylinders seized amid concerns over a possible supply shortage. | P3 Mundra Por t on Monday evening. “20,000 MT will be unloaded at Mundra and 26,000 MT will be unloaded at Mangalore,” an Adani group spokesperson said. Shivalik is carrying LPG ordered by IOCL. Nanda Devi is expected to arrive at Kandla Port soon. Another Indian vessel, Jag Laadki, which departed from UAE on March 14 carrying 81,000 tonnes of crude oil, will reach Mundra on Tuesday . Puri’s daughter files `10 cr suit on defamatory online content U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi UNION Minister Hardeep Puri’s daughter Himayani has moved Delhi High Court, seeking removal of allegedly defamatory online content linking her to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. In the lawsuit, which may come up for hearing in the coming days, Himayani has sought `10 crore as damages from several social media entities and unidentified individuals for her alleged defamation. The lawsuit has claimed that the digital media and other online content were “false, malicious, and defamatory”. It claimed that the defendants had “fabricated and disseminated baseless allegations suggesting that she maintained direct or indirect business, financial, personal, or network links with Jeffrey Epstein and his criminal activities”. Some of the defendants have “propagated the allegations through manipulative formats such as edited videos, misleading captions, and doctored thumbnails”, it stated. These formats were designed to maximise the public outrage, and cause reputational harm to the plaintiff, the suit said. “Commencing on or around February 22, a series of false, misleading, and defamatory posts, articles, videos, and digital materials were published, disseminated, and amplified across social media and intermediary platforms, including, inter alia, ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, digital news portals, blogs, and other web-based publications,” the suit states. She has also sought an “unconditional apology” from defendants for allegedly damaging her reputation, adding that she was being targeted in a “motivated manner” with the intention of maligning her, both in India and on a global scale. CABINET NOD Transgender passengers can avail free bus ride Pink tickets to replace ticket system, says CM A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi THE cabinet on Monday okayed a proposal to include transgenders in the free bus travel scheme on all routes operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and buses run by the Transport Department. With this decision, eligible transgenders will be able to avail free travel in DTC and cluster buses, on the same pattern as the existing free travel facility provided to women passengers. After the cabinet decision, CM Rekha Gupta said the decision aims to ensure that members of the transgender community can travel safely and conveniently across the city . According to a statement issued from the chief minister’s office, the free travel for women Under the government scheme, women can travel in DTC and cluster buses using pink tickets. The government is replacing the ticket system with pink cards for eligible women. Gupta said that women need not worry as the ticket system for free travel will continue for the next three months and the cards will also be accepted on the buses, she said. in public transport buses through the pink ticket will continue for three months, and they were urged not to worry or rush for having ‘Pink Saheli’ cards. Under the Delhi government scheme, women can travel in DTC and cluster buses with pink tickets. The government is replacing the ticket system by issuing pink cards. In a post on ‘X’, Gupta said women need not worry as the ticket system for free travel will continue for the next three months and the cards will also be accepted on the buses. She said that the women can visit the centres set up for issuing the pink smart cards according to their convenience. “The government, if need be, will increase the number of centres for facilitating the women,” the CM said. The Delhi government has set up 50 authorised centres across the city to facilitate the issuance of the Pink Saheli smart cards. Long queues were seen at some of these centres set up at the offices of the district magistrates and sub-divisional magistrates along with select DTC premises. The Pink National Common Mobility Card was launched recently by President Droupadi M u r m u . E l i g i bl e wo m e n residents of Delhi can obtain the Pink Saheli Smart Cards free of cost from the designated counters.