FRIDAY 27 MARCH, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard N E PA L PM DESIGNATE URGES UNITY Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah has issued his first post-election message via a rap song, saying, “The strength of unity is my national power.” PAGE 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 India domestically producing over 60% of the daily LPG requirement, says govt; 8 lakh metric tonnes of assured LPG cargoes already secured Israel says it killed Iran’s navy chief An LPG vessel from Qatar, carrying 17,600 MT cargo, at the Mangalore port on Thursday | PTI A G E N C I E S @ Dubai PM to chair virtual meeting with CMs today Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday chair a meeting with chief ministers of all states, except those heading into elections, to discuss the West Asia situation. He is expected to engage separately with chief secretaries of poll-bound states | P7 Hormuz safe passage for ‘friendly’ India, four other nations: Iran FM RAKESH KUMAR AND USHA PERI @ New Delhi/Visakhapatnam IN a major relief for energy supply, Iran on Thursday said the Strait of Hormuz will remain open for India and four other countries amid the conflict in West Asia. Speaking to Iranian state TV , Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi clarified that the strait, contrary to Western media claims, is not completely closed. “For some countries that we consider friendly, or in cases where we decided to do so for other reasons, our armed forces have provided safe passage,” said Araghchi. The other nations on the safe passage list are Russia, China, Iraq and Pakistan. Before the conflict began, 20% of the world’s crude oil supply passed through the strait. Meanwhile, the petroleum ministry said India is producing much more LPG than it needs to import. India is now producing 50 TMT (50,000 metric tonnes) of LPG a day as DAY against a total daily requirement of around 80 TMT. Besides, 800 TMT of assured inbound LPG cargoes have already been secured and are en route from the US, Russia, Australia and elsewhere. Two Indiaflagged LPG tankers — Pine Gas and Jag Vasant — crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and are on their way to India. 27 Twenty other India-flagged vessels with 540 Indian seafarers are in the Persian Gulf, waiting to cross the strait. They include six LPG carriers, one LNG tanker, four crude oil tankers, one chemical and product carrier, three container ships, and two bulk carriers. The cargo mix includes one LNG shipment for Petronet LNG, seven LPG cargoes — four for Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, three for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd—and four crude oil consignments, including two for Indian Oil Corporation, and one each for Reliance Industries and BPCL. Sharing the date, the govern- ment sought to project India is an oasis of energy security . The Visakhapatnam Port is set to receive 72 TMT of LPG in three separate shipments beginning Friday. LPG carrier BW Birch is expected on March 27 with 24 TMT of cargo, transshipped from within India. Two additional vessels, Hellas Gladiator and Gas Jupiter, are scheduled to arrive on March 30, each carrying 24 TMT. While Hellas Gladiator loaded its cargo from the Netherlands, Gas Jupiter is transporting LPG sourced from the US. Substantial volumes of crude oil are also expected at Vizag. About 99,898 MT of blended crude oil will be brought in by MT Desh Gaurav, which is scheduled to arrive on April 5. A day after Iran dismissed the US’s 15-point de-escalation proposal as “excessive and one-sided”, Israel said it has killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy chief Alireza Tangsiri and naval intelligence chief Behnam Rezaei. “Last night, we eliminated IRGC Navy commander. This individual was responsible for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said Tangsiri oversaw the Strait of Hormuz blockade, while Rezai supported the naval operations with maritime intelligence. Iran did not immediately confir m the killings. The conflict appeared to escalate further on ThursAlireza Tangsiri day with both Washington and Tehran hardening their stance. US President Donald Trump doubled down on his threat saying Iran must “get serious” on negotiating with the US before it’s too late, or be prepared to face its “worst nightmare”. Iran continued to pummel Israel and Gulf nations on Thursday. An Indian national was among two killed in Abu Dhabi after debris from intercepted P9 missiles fell on a street. Flames billow from a private bus after it collided with a truck, in Rayavaram, Andhra Pradesh, on Thursday | PTI 14 KILLED IN AP BUS-TRUCK COLLISION E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Ongole FOURTEEN people were killed after a private bus collided with a gravel-laden truck in Andhra Pradesh’s Markapuram district on Thursday morning, and caught fire. In all, 42 passengers were travelling in the ill-fated sleeper coach bus when the mishap occurred. The other 28 passengers escaped with injuries. According to sources, the driver lost control when the bus reached Rayavaram slate quarry area, and the bus collided head-on with the truck. The diesel tank of the bus burst due to the impact, engulfing the vehicle in flames. The drivers and cleaners of the bus and truck escaped with injuries. Fire tenders rushed to the spot and extinguished the flames. The injured were shifted to Markapuram government hospital. Later, three were shifted to Ongole RIMS. Prakasam Collector and Incharge Collector of Markapuram P Raja Babu, Prakasam Superintendent of Police V Harshavardhan Raju, Markapuram Joint Collector P Srinivasulu reached the spot and oversaw relief operations. Later, Ongole MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy MLAs Ugra , Narasimha Reddy and K Narayana Reddy, Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha, Transport Minister M Ramprasad Reddy and DGP Harish Kumar Gupta inspected the accident spot. The Home and Transport Ministers held a review meeting with the district officials on relief measures and and medical treatment to the injured. Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha said the bus belonged to Harikrishna Travels of Kanigiri and it had licence up to the end of 2026. “As per the preliminary inquiry it is clear that it is an accident. However, we have ordered a comprehensive probe into the mishap. Strict action will be taken based on the findings of the probe to avert recurrence of such mishaps in the future,” the minister said. TRANSGENDER WOMEN ATHLETES BANNED FROM OLYMPIC EVENTS The IOC aligned itself with US President Donald Trump’s policy on transgenders, saying such athletes will be excluded from women’s events at the 2028 LA Olympics | P11 Noida airport to be launched by PM on Saturday 63 officers transferred in major Haryana bureaucratic reshuffle EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh PRIME Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the newly constructed Noida International Airport on Saturday . Its inauguration marks a significant milestone in India’s journey towards becoming a global aviation hub, an official statement said. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uttar Pradesh on March 28, 2026. At around 11.30 am, he will undertake a walkthrough of the terminal building of the Noida International Airport at Jewar, Gautam Buddha Nagar. Thereafter, at around 12 noon, the prime minister will inaugurate Phase I of the Noida International Airport and address a public gathering on the occasion,” the statement said. The Noida airport is one among the largest greenfield airport projects in India. Together, the Delhi and Noida airports will function as an integrated aviation system, easing congestion, expanding passenger capacity, and positioning the NCR among the leading global aviation hubs, the statement said. Phase I of the airport has been developed with an outlay of `11,200 crore under a publicprivate-partnership model. THE Haryana gover nment transferred 63 officers, including 21 IAS and 42 HCS officers, in one of the largest administrative reshuffles on Thursday . A 2003 batch IAS officer, Amit Kumar Agrawal, posted as Secretary of Industries and Commerce, Information and Public Relations, and Heritage and Tourism departments, has been given the additional charge of Member Secretary of Kurukshetra Development Board. The 2005 batch IAS officer Geeta Bharti, formerly secretary in the home department, has been appointed Commissioner of Hisar. Meanwhile, 2007 batch officer Ravi Prakash Gupta has been posted as Commissioner of Gurugram Division and will continue to hold his additional charge of the Ur- ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS DEAD MAN ON THE ROLL AND ZUBEEN TOUCH I P8 COPS INJURED AS TMC, BJP FIGHT PITCHED BATTLE I P8 CAN AIADMK BREACH THE DMK FORT I P5 FESTIVAL SPIRIT The Ram Navami Shobha Yatra started from Kathleshwar Temple in old town and reached Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Thursday | ZAHOOR PUNJABI GURUGRAM COMMISSIONER Ravi Prakash Gupta, 2007 batch officer, has been posted as Commissioner of Gurugram Division and will continue to hold his additional charge of the Urban Estate Department. ban Estate Department. T he 2001 batch of ficer Narhari Singh Banger, who was awaiting posting orders, has been appointed Managing Director of CONFED. Satyender Duhan will serve as Director, Skill Development and Industrial Training, and Additional Secretary Skill Develop, ment and Industrial Training. Vandana Disodia has been named Additional Secretary, Home Department, and Manag- ing Director of Haryana Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation. Satbir Singh is the new Director, Fire Services, and CEO of Ayushman Bharat. A 2019 batch IAS officer, Jaideep Kumar, who was awaiting posting, has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Public Health Engineering Department against a newly created post. Among the younger officers, 2021 batch officer Lakshit Sarteen will serve as Additional Deputy Commissioner of Hansi and District Municipal Comm i s s i o n e r. A n k i t Ku m a r Chouksey has been appointed ADC, Panipat; Arpit Sangal is new ADC, Sirsa, and the CEO, Zila Parishad, Sirsa. Kanika Goyal will take charge as SDM, Ambala Cantonment, and Yogesh Saini will take charge as SDM, Mahendragarh. Luring former captain, ‘Munna Bhai’ gang busted in Raj, 23 arrested woman lands in custody FAKE DOCTORS R A J E S H A S N A N I @ Jaipur RAJASTHAN police have busted a “Munna Bhai” gang involved in producing fake doctors using fraudulent Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) certificates. At least 23 accused have been arrested. The accused charged candidates between `20 lakh and `25 lakh for issuing a fake FMGE certificate that allowed them to practise as a doctor in India, according to officials. Among those arrested are candidates who obtained MBBS degrees from abroad and later secured registration in India through forged documents, along with a middleman facilitating the registration. Investigation has revealed that candidates who failed to clear the mandatory FMGE after obtaining medical degrees from abroad submitted forged FMGE certificates to secure internships. The probe has found that at least 93 individuals became certified doctors through these means. The case came to light when police discovered the role of then registrar of Rajasthan Medical Council (RMC) Dr Ajay Sharma and other staff. ADG Vishal Bansal said that Sharma and RMC nodal officer Akhilesh Mathur played key roles in the illegal operations. He stated that the officials failed to verify the authenticity of FMGE certificates submitted by candidates. Authorities said the fraudulent operation enabled candidates to bypass mandatory checks and secure registra- The case was lodged after complaints were received about many doctors using forged FMGE certificates in Rajasthan, prompting a detailed investigation —Vishal Bansal, ADG tions in exchange for hefty payments. Bansal added, “The case was lodged after complaints were received about forged FMGE certificates, prompting a detailed investigation. Police found that one Piyush Trivedi was undergoing an internship in Karauli on the basis of a fake FMGE certificate, who was arrested.” He said the arrest led police to Devendra, Shubham and Bhanaram, the last one being the kingpin of the gang who did MBBS from Kazakhstan, changed countries frequently. He was recently held from the capital’s IGI Airport. N I T I N R A W AT @ New Delhi A 44-year-old woman and her aide have been arrested for allegedly running a honey-trap racket and filing false cases to extort money The woman . lives in Daryaganj and her aide Yashdev Singh Chauhan, also 44, lives in New Usmanpur. DCP (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said the probe revealed an organised racket involving honeytrapping, followed by criminal complaints to extort money. The woman avoided direct negotiation, instead routing com- munication through her aide. Police said the woman first contacted a retired Army captain on social media under the pretext of promoting his novels. After gaining his trust, she induced him to engage in financial transactions, created disputes, and filed a criminal case against him in 2021. A chargesheet followed, but the complainant moved court. The Supreme Court quashed the FIR last February Subsequently, on . the captain’s complaint, the police registered a case for false implication in extortion case.