wednesdAY 16 september, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard Drug regulator warns against sale of unauthorised Pak cosmetics products X.com/TheMornStandard Issues public health alert against sale and distribution of unauthorised cosmetics products with excessive heavy metals No Exit China tightens border rules Border control rules taking effect in China on Tuesday could ban citizens from leaving the country if they engage in acts that endangers national security Page 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi l J8.00 local destinations, global standards TOURISM SUMMIT 2026 Where India meets Bharat Suman Billa, Additional Secretary and Director General, Ministry of Tourism, flanked by TNIE Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla and CEO Lakshmi Menon, lights the traditional lamp to mark the inauguration of TNIE Tourism Summit 2026 at ITC Grand Chola in Chennai on Tuesday. The summit has brought together policymakers and artists to transform regional destinations into world-class hubs | Ashwin Prasath E x p r e s s Re a d India dismisses Pak’s JeM move as ‘phoney’ India dismissed Pak’s reported `70 lakh reward for news on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a “phoney gimmick”, questioning its commitment to acting against terrorists operating from its territory. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Pak’s move was merely a repeat of tactics India has seen before. P7 Punjab Congress puts differences aside All India Congress Committee general secretary for Punjab, Sachin Pilot, visited Chandigarh on Tuesday and changed the messaging of the party. He brought together state chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, ex-CM Charanjit Singh Channi and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Randhawa on one platform. P8 0.4% MDR for UPI payments D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi Starting October 15, UPI merchant transactions above `2,000 will attract a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) of 0.4%, capped at `300 per transaction for payments above `75,000. Person-to-person (P2P) transactions will remain free. The new charges will apply only to person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions above `2,000. Such transactions account for 20% of UPI’s monthly transactions worth around `30 lakh crore. The fee will be a flat `5 per transaction for UPI payments above `2,000 for essential sectors such as railways, telecom services, insurance, fuel and educational institutions. Small vendors operating under the person-to-person merchant (P2PM) framework will Important step: RBI Introduction of MDR on high-value transactions will strengthen UPI’s long-term sustainability, RBI said. “It will help UPI in continuing to scale, innovate and serve consumers and businesses,” it added continue to pay no MDR, even if the transaction is above `2,000. This applies to small businesses receiving up to `1 lakh a month through UPI into their bank accounts. For capital market transactions, including payments towards mutual funds, securities, s t o ck b ro ke r s a n d dealers, the MDR is 0.02% of the transaction value, subject to a maximum of `300. According to estimates, the total annual collection from the charges could cross `20,000 crore, with banks expected to account for about 40% of the collections. The revised framework also proposes a dedicated fund for small merchants to support digital payment infrastructure, particularly in Tier3 and smaller markets. The National Payments Corporation of India, which operates the UPI platform, said the revised MDR would remain lower than charges associated with other digital payment instruments, including credit cards and debit cards. According to estimates, maintaining the entire gamut of UPI operations costs around `20,000 crore annually p10 . l The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation issued the warning against Goree Beauty Cream and Chandni Whitening Cream, both with “Made in Pakistan” label. The Drugs Controller General of India said these “are unauthorised and contain excessive heavy metals beyond the specified limits which may pose health risk to the consumers including toxic effects”. It said the two cosmetic products were not issued a registration certificate for import by the competent authority for sale in India. For the import of cosmetics, the products must be registered with the Central Licencing Authority in accordance with the prescribed rules. PAGES 12 No remission for Dara Singh, says Odisha panel sion plea on various grounds, including societal ramifications which could lead to comTHE State Sentence Review munal disturbances. Board (SSRB) of the Odisha The decision came ahead of government has rejected the the next hearing of the Suplea for premature release of preme Court on September 17. Bajrang Dal activist Rabindra The court had, on September Kumar Pal alias Dara Singh, 8, taken strong exception to serving life imprisonthe inaction of the ment for the ghastly state government on murder of Australian the matter and remissionary Graham fused to grant more Staines and his two time for a decision. minor sons in 1999. T he 63-year-old The decision was Singh in his petition taken at a special pleaded for premameeting of the Board ture release from Bajrang Dal on August 31, chaired prison as he had alactivist Dara Singh ready spent more by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Hethan 25 years in jail. SC seeks mant Sharma and atSingh, who hails tended by five other Odisha’s view from Uttar Pradesh members. but settled in OdisRecently, the SSRB held that disha’s Keonjhar disSupreme Court, trict authorities of trict, is currently while hearing Keonjhar, where the Singh’s petition serving life impristriple-murder took onment for burning for release, had place in 1999 and asked Odisha to to death Staines (then Singh is imprisoned, 58) and his two minor take a decision had in March last on the matter or sons — Philip and year given a condi- it will decide on Timothy — when tional recommenda- his remission plea they were sleeping at tion, stating that he a church in Keonjhar may be prematurely in the intervening released, while imposing cer- night of January 22-23, 1999. tain conditions to maintain Singh, the main accused in social harmony . the triple-murder case, was The Board held that the re- sentenced to capital punishport of the district authorities ment in 2003. The Orissa High lacked specific recommenda- Court later commuted his tion and was inconclusive. It death sentence to life in 2005, stated that it was not inclined which was upheld by the Suto recommend Singh’s remis- preme Court in 2011. e x press news ser v ice @ Bhubaneswar Weaponisation US admits it has deployed weapons in outer space a g encies @ Washington THE United States on Tuesday revealed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told the Air and Space Cyber Conference in Maryland on Monday that the US has fielded “on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action”. Meink did not detail what the weapons were or how they work. In 2024, the US said Russia was developing a new antisatellite weapon that could be launched from space. At the time the White House said the danger wasn’t imminent. But reports of the anti-satellite weapon reflected longstanding worries about space threats from Russia and China, given that much US infrastructure is de pendent on satellite communications. Meink also said the Air Force was adding more autonomous systems to its capabilities and predicted the service would look “radically different” by 2032. For example, he foresaw one-way attack drones replacing artillery as the “primary killer”. “We are increasing readiness against existing threats,” he said. However, China and Russia warned against turning outer space into a “battlefield”. President Donald Trump had created the Space Force in 2019. P9 Govt, 6 Yamuna basin states ink pact on Kishau project M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi Accused Kalyan Bainsla (left) with the car used in the incident after his arrest on Tuesday. (Right) Shivani Chauhan, whose motorcycle was hit by Bainsla | PTI Car driver in Gurugram biker crash held in Raj on attempted murder charge der relevant sections. The accused car driver gave The Gurugram Police has ar- interviews to the media regardrested prime accused Kalyan ing the matter and then Bainsla in the hit-and-run case, switched off his mobile phone in which a woman biker was and went into hiding to evade hit. Bainsla was driving the car the police. and allegedly deliberately hit After registering the case the biker after she asked him to and conducting an investigamaintain distance from her tion, Section 109 (attempt to motorcycle. murder) of the BNS After the incident, was added to the case. Vehicle Bainsla, a resident of The victim’s staterecovered Palwal in Haryana, ment was recorded. It The car used in fled and was nabbed was alleged that the on Tuesday in Rajas- the incident has accused passed some been recovered than between Dausa indecent comments from Bainsla. It is when he was driving. and Rajgarh. According to the po- registered in his Based on her statelice, on Monday, a friend’s name. His ment, more sections counsel said his woman biker shared a under BNS were addvideo on her social client fled as he ed, a senior police offeared being media platform showficer said. beaten. ing how she was hit by The police said a car on the Golf Bainsla attempted to Course Road in Gurugram on escape from police custody on Sunday morning. After the vid- the pretext of going to urinate. eo came to the police’s notice, He sustained injuries after fallefforts were made to contact ing and was provided first aid the victim. at a hospital, an officer said. As no complaint was received The also police detained by the victim, the police took Bainsla’s cousin Lovneesh, suo motu cognisance of the in- who was with him in the car. cident and registered a case at The police are ascertaining his the Sector 56 police station un- role in the incident. N itin R awat @ New Delhi The Centre and six Yamuna Basin states on Tuesday signed the long-pending Kishau Multipurpose Project Agreement, clearing a major hurdle for the construction of a 232.6-metrehigh dam on the Tons River along the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border. The agreement brings the Centre, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana together on a project that has been under discussion for long, with the government now committing t o m ove a h e a d w i t h i t s construction. Under the pact, the Centre will shoulder 90% of the project’s financial burden, while the remaining 10% will be shared by the participating states in accordance with the 1994 agreement. The agreement was signed in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah and Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini. Describing the agreement as “historic”, Shah said the project would deliver different benefits to all the six states and credited the chief ministers Amit Shah with CMs of Yamuna basin states with copies of MoU on Tuesday | PTI Yamuna recharge 1,562 mn cubic m Storage capacity 97,000 ha Area expected to be irrigated 232.6 m Proposed height of the dam Basin states 1,476 mn 25% units of project water UP, U’khand, Himachal, of clean to be available Rajasthan, hydropower to for Yamuna Delhi, Haryana be generated system and the Jal Shakti Ministry with helping overcome years of differences. “The Centre and the six states are committed to completing the project at the earliest,” Shah said. He presented the agreement as part of the government’s effort to settle long-running inter-state water issues and described the cooperation among the states as an example of “Team India.” The Kishau project will have a storage capacity of 1,562 mil- lion cubic metres, according to Shah. It is projected to irrigate around 97,000 hectares and generate 1,476 million units of clean hydropower. For Delhi, however, the project’s most significant implication could be its impact on the Yamuna. Shah said 25% of the project’s water will be available to the Yamuna system, increasing water availability while also supporting the river’s environmental flow. The Kishau project traces its origins to the May 1994 agreement, which provided for separate arrangements for storage projects in the Yamuna basin. But differences over technical, economic and financial issues delayed implementation. Protest at IGIA over delay Foul air looms, CAQM asks schools in SpiceJet flights to Dubai Pollution limits to skip sports activities in Nov-Dec Direction to partners A D I T I R AY C H OW D H U RY @ New Delhi The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has advised Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh governments against holding any physical sports competitions in schools during November and December, citing health concerns for children. In an advisory on September 10, the Commission reiterated its earlier directions issued in November 2025 following concerns raised by the Supreme Court over children participating in outdoor sporting events during periods of hazardous air pollution. While hearing the air pollution case on MC Mehta vs Union of India & Others, the SC had expressed concern about the potential health risks faced The CAQM said that after consultations with stakeholders, including the Department of School Education and Literacy, NCR governments, the Sports Authority of India, the School Games Federation of India and pollution-control authorities, it had earlier asked governments to postpone such events. by schoolchildren taking part in physical sports competitions when air quality deteriorates. The body also said that after consultations with stakeholders, including the Department of School Education and Literacy, NCR state governments, the Sports Authority of India, the School Games Federation of India and pollution-control authorities, it had earlier asked the concerned governments to take appropriate action to postpone such events. For 2026, the CAQM has said that no physical sports activities or competitions should be scheduled during the two months, while taking into account the prevailing air-quality conditions in the areas where events are planned. Competitions that have already been scheduled may be rescheduled depending on air quality . S L alitha @ New Delhi More than 150 passengers staged a sit-in protest at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Monday evening and Tuesday morning, raising slogans against SpiceJet after several Dubai-bound flights were delayed by between 19 and 29 hours. The journey usually takes 3.5 hours. T h e p a s s e n g e r s, gathered at Terminal 3, demanded clarity from airline staff over the prolonged delays and alleged that they were not given clear information on revised departure times. They complained of a lack of food, drinks and accommodation. Among the worst-affected flights were Delhi-Dubai services. SG-5118, scheduled to depart at 8.30 am on Monday took , off at around 2 pm on Tuesday , nearly 30 hours after its sched- uled departure. SG 5105, scheduled to leave Delhi at 10.10 pm on Monday departed at around , 5 pm on Tuesday. A MumbaiDubai service, SG 5113, scheduled to depart Mumbai at 12.55 pm on Monday, eventually left at 11.45 pm on Tuesday . Flights from Bengaluru, Hyderabad and other airports also faced delays. The disruption comes as the airline grapples with operational and financial challenges. In a statement, the airline attributed the delays to the grounding of an aircraft. “SpiceJet flights SG 5111 & SG 5105, operating from Delhi to Dubai, were delayed due to operational reasons following the grounding of an aircraft. Alternate flights were arranged to accommodate the affected passengers, and the airline made every effort to minimise the disruption,” the airline said.