SATURDAY 23 MAY, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard WEST ASIA MICHEL DANINO WHAT was meant to be a routine re-evaluation process spiraled into a controversy with students alleging the , Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) website was “hacked or compromised”, causing fees for answer sheet photocopies to fluctuate wildly . As per official norms, students are charged `100 per subject to access photocopies of their evaluated answer sheets. However, on the fourth day of the application window, users began reporting discrepancies. Screenshots shared widely on social media showed the same service being priced at `8,000, then jumping to `67,000, and even `69,420 per subject. The CBSE did not issue any clarification on a possible cyber attack. CBSE Secretary Himanshu Gupta, however, shared a circular saying that the dates to fill re-evaluation forms have been extended by a day—till May 24. “The CBSE has been facing unprecedented traffic since past few days and faced several attempts of unauthorised interference, which has made it prone to disruptions. Hence, to ensure that no student is left behind, the board is extending the last date for obtaining scanned photocopies of answer books of class 12 exams,” read a CBSE circular on Friday . This was the second time that CBSE had to extend the dates, owing to the technical glitches faced by the students since May 19.  NEW DELHI Bumper payout to help govt surmount the financial distress due to West Asia conflict B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai THE Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced a bumper surplus—also known as dividend—payout of `2.87 lakh crore to the Centre for the year ended March 2026 (FY26). The surplus for FY26, which will be transferred in FY27, is nearly 7% higher than `2.68 lakh crore for FY25 and will help the government tide over the revenue constraints due to geopolitical tensions. The latest transfer was possible due to a 21% expansion in the central bank’s balance sheet, driven by large open market operations and dollar sales during the year. “Taking into consideration the current macroeconomic factors, financial performance of the Bank and maintenance of appropriate risk buffers, the Central Board decided to transfer `1,09,379.64 crore towards the contingent risk buffer (CRB) for FY26 as against `44,861.70 crore in the previous year, and maintain the CRB at 6.5% of the balance sheet. Accordingly , it decided to transfer `2,86,588.46 crore as surplus to the government for the accounting year 2025-26,” RBI said in a statement after its board meeting chaired by Gover nor Sanjay Malhotra. This is third year in a row that RBI has transferred over `2 lakh crore to the Central government. It transferred `2.1 lakh crore in FY25. The central bank said its gross income rose 26.42% year-on-year, while expenditure before risk provisions increased 27.6%. Net income before risk provisions and transfer to statutory funds stood at `3.96 lakh crore in FY26 against `3.13 lakh crore in FY25. RBI’s balance sheet expanded 20.61% yearon-year to `91.97 lakh crore. Under the revised Economic Capital Framework adopted in 2019, RBI can maintain the CRB between 4.5% and 7.5% of the balance sheet. The central bank retained the CRB at 6.5% for the second consecutive year. The balance sheet of the bank expanded by 20.61% to `91,97,121.08 crore (`91.97 lakh crore) as on March 31, 2026 Reserve Bank of India SURPLUS TRANSFER (`CRORE) Union Minister and HAM leader Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday was attacked with stones at a function in Bihar’s Gaya Ji district. The stone, however, didn’t hit him, but his bodyguard sustained injuries. N-capable Agni-I missile test-fired India successfully carried out a test of the nuclearcapable Agni-I shortrange ballistic missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha, according to a MoD statement on Friday. JOINING issue with a coordinate bench that criticised the denial of bail to Delhi riots accused Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, arrested under the harsh Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a bench of justices Aravind Kumar and P B Varale referred the matter to a larger bench to resolve the perceived conflict in the higher judiciary . A three-judge bench had in the Union of India v KA Najeeb case, held that long incarceration can be a ground to PAGES 12 The Jabalpur police took his custody and handed him over to its Bhopal counterpart TWISHA’S MP HUSBAND HELD 3 highgovt requests court to cancel anticipatory AMID HIGH DRAMA to Twisha’s ex-judge bail given motherin-law Giribala Singh; court issues notice Giribala tried to tamper with evidence and obstruct police investigations, govt tells court. Says she leaked select small clips of CCTV footage on social media to tamper with evidence | Full coverage: P8 Punjab launches drive against stray dogs, says will implement SC order H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh PUNJAB Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Friday said that the state government would implement the Supreme Court’s directions on stray dogs in letter and spirit while ensuring both public safety and humane care for animals. Interestingly, the state has only one dog pound in Ludhiana, with the capacity of about 500 dogs, catering to 166 urban local bodies. Also, no euthanasia policy for stray dogs is another challenge. Sources said that the local bodies department has a stray dog policy, which includes animal birth control and shifting Canine population CM Mann said the govt doesn’t have official figures on the number of stray dogs. However, a study, covering August 2016 to November 2017, estimated the stray dog population is between 5.19 lakh and 15.69 lakh. strays to dog pounds. However, the euthanasia policy is yet to be finalised. “There is no stray dog pound anywhere else in the state, and the government will have to acquire land to set up pounds. But the problem is that the land costs are exhorbitant,” said an “A coordinate bench cannot make strong observations and effectively unsettle the ratio of an earlier bench while sitting in equal strength. The law has often grown through reasoned differences,” the court said, adding a coordinate bench may, however, express doubt THE Indian Air Force, the world’s last operator of the Jaguar strike aircraft, is facing a fresh sustainment challenge after Martin-Baker informed it that more than 250 Mk9 seats categories of critical spares for the fleet’s ejection seats Manufacturer Martin-Baker says it can can no longer be supplied. no longer supply over 250 categories of spares for the Jaguar’s ejection seats Sources said the Mk 9 ejection seats fitted across the Jaguar fleet, including trainer parts must meet the exact devariants, are facing growing sign, material and performance obsolescence as the original specifications of the original equipment manuc o m p o n e n t s, ” a facturer (OEM) is source said. PRESS CLUSIVE unable to meet a Mk 9’s seat lacks substantial portion automatic ejection o f t h e I A F ’ s s p a r e s capability and requires the pirequirement. lot to manually initiate escape “Repairs are being undertak- by pulling the ejection handle. en in-house using available re- That poses challenges. Bird sources but addressing the is- strikes, engine failures at low sue is critical if the ejection altitude or pilot incapacitation seats are to remain viable in can leave little margin for a sucthe long run. Any substitute cessful escape. 2 Twisha’s father Navnidhi Sharma, too, moves HC seeking cancellation of Giribala’s anticipatory bail Kumar-led bench observed that Najeeb was not a mathematical command to mechanically grant bail if there was a delay in trial. It pointed out that bail was granted to five accused on January 5 and denied to Khalid and Imam following an individualised assessment of their roles. ‘Law grew through reasoned differences’ J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi On the run for 10 days, Samarth Singh, lawyer-husband of model-actor Twisha Sharma, main accused in her dowry death case, sought to surrender before a Jabalpur court on Friday HC allows second autopsy of Twisha, as sought by her family grant bail in cases under the UAPA. Citing this verdict, a bench of Justices Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan had said, “Judicial discipline and certainty demands that Benches of smaller strength are mindful of the decisions rendered by larger Benches and are bound to follow the same.” In its rebuttal, the Aravind official, pleading anonymity . The dogs cannot be killed immediately and can only be culled on the Supreme Court orders. “But for the euthanasia policy, the veterinarians have to certify whether the dogs have rabies, are ferocious or are sick,’’ he said. To ensure children, senior citizens and families are able to move freely in public spaces without fear, the CM announced that strays would be shifted from high footfall areas, according to a government official. Referring to the SC’s May 19 order, Mann said the state has already issued necessary directions to ensure strict compliance with the orders. The seat lacks automatic ejection capability The IAF is simultaneously pursuing foreign sourcing options and working with domestic industry on a long-term indigenous solution. “The industry has been tasked with developing an advanced ejection seat that can ensure safe pilot ejection at all speeds and altitudes. We are looking at a seat that can be integrated across multiple fighter platforms with little or no modification,” the source added. The IAF has around 120 Jaguars. HC tears into WFI for blaming Phogat over Olympic disqualification U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi THE Delhi High Court on Friday pulled up the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for blaming celebrated grappler Vinesh Phogat, who “suffered a heartbreak in the Olympics”, instead of fixing the responsibility on the sports managers. The court also said that Phogat, seeking return from a maternity break, should not be “denounced for becoming a mother”. A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia described her as “a wrestler of international repute” and reprimanded the federation for its decision to declare Phogat “ineligible” to participate in domestic events. It said it would pass an order on whether she can join the upcoming Asian Games selection trials. The bench was appalled by the WFI’s show-cause notice to Phogat, which blamed her for causing “national embarrassment” by being disqualified from the Paris Olympics for be- The order dictated in the open court said the issue concerns the proper constitutional approach to be adopted, where the prolonged incarceration and delay in conclusion of the trial are pressed as the grounds for bail, notwithstanding the statutory constraint contained in Section 43D(5) of UAPA. The bench was considering arguments made by Delhi Police in the pleas filed by two other accused Tasleem Ahmed and Khalid Saifi seeking bail. It granted them interim bail for six months. 3-day relief for Khalid P4 IAF grapples with spares supply crunch for Jaguar’s ejection seat 1 On May 21 this year, Delhi recorded a peak power demand of 8,231 MW, while it was 2,783 MW on May 21, 2021, according to data. So in the last six years, the power demand has nearly tripled. P3 Manjhi attacked with stone in Bihar  @ New Delhi Power demand up 3 times since ’21 A final-year student of PG Diploma in Cricket at Haryana Sports University in Rai of Sonipat drowned in the varsity’s swimming pool on Thursday night. Nishant Gautam (20) was from Palwal in Haryana. J8.00 S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y EXPRESS READ Student drowns at sports univ pool  A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi deleted the adverse remarks against Professor Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar that the academicians had deliberately misrepresented facts. It recalled its direction to blacklist the authors, saying that the authorities can take an independent decision `2.87 lakh crore Umar Khalid case sent to larger bench RBI ‘gift’ amid economic stress 2,10,874 2,68,590 2,86,588 I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS 57,128 99,122 30,307 87,416 `100 to `67K: Confusion after CBSE portal ‘hacked’ Deletes adverse remarks in March 11 order 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 PAGE 9 ALOK PRASANNA NCERT BOOK ROW: SC MODIFIES ORDER BLACKLISTING 3 ACADEMIC EXPERTS MUNIR IN IRAN FOR DEAL TO END WAR Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir departed on Friday for an official visit to Tehran in an effort to get the US and Iran reach a deal to end the conflict. SUPARNA DIWAKAR ing overweight ahead of her gold medal match. “Was it a national shame? She was in the finals. How did the people of the country look at the event? Would you describe it as a national shame? Is that how you are serving the cause of wrestling in the country? What was the mood of the country at that time,” the bench said. It also questioned why the 2024 Olympic episode was brought up in the notice issued to her earlier this month. The bench wondered why it should not be presumed that the WFI changed the selection criteria for her. It denounced the WFI’s selection policy as “absolutely retrograde”. “She became a mother in July 2025. We are in May Why can’t . it be presumed that you changed it (selection criteria) for her... Whatever may be the feud or dispute, why should the cause of sports suffer? Motherhood is celebrated in the country, should it come to the detriment of a person,” the court said. MAJOR RELIEF Nod to DJB rejig, as 70% rebate on water infra charges A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi THE Delhi government has announced a major rationalisation of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) infrastructure charges (IFC). The government on Friday said that the IFC for water and sewer would be levied on a water demand basis and only on new development or additional construction within a property . CM Rekha Gupta said that the IFC would apply only to new construction projects or additional construction carried out on an existing property . Redevelopment projects where water demand does not increase will not attract IFC. Also, non-FAR areas as well as open and uncovered spaces will not be included in water demand calculations or in the assessment of IFC. She said that the government’s objective is to provide relief to citizens, strengthen infrastructure and establish Delhi as a model in water management, sewage treatment and environmental protection. The government has decided to provide special relief to different categories of colonies and economically affected sections. Properties located in E and F category colonies will receive a 50% concession in IFC, while those in G and H category colonies will be eligible for concessions of up to 70%. She announced that residential units measuring 50 square metres or less, built on plots larger than 200 square metres, would receive an additional 50% concession, providing direct relief to small families and the middle class. Religious institutions and charitable organisations registered under Section 12AB will be entitled to an additional 50% concession. To promote environmental protection, institutions and commercial establishments adopting a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system will get up to 50% concession in sewer IFC. The CM said that it is only for those institutions and commercial establishments where ZLDbased sewage treatment plants have been installed and are fully operational in accordance with the standards prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. 3.2L CANDIDATES APPLY FOR NEET EXAM CENTRE CHANGE With the National Testing Agency permitting candidates to opt for different centres for the rescheduled NEET exam on June 21, a total of 3.2 lakh candidates have applied for a change of venue, according to a senior official | P3 & P7